Light, Shadow, Twilight
by Ziek Aramaik
Summary: AU after "Mask of Light." Summaries of the awakening of Mata Nui and what comes after. COMPLETED!
1. Ekiah

Author's Notes (Important! Please read.)

A few years ago, a friend of mine and I got together and decided to have fun playing with Bionicle figures. The figures were mostly his, the stories were mostly mine (although they were largely inspired by whatever anime I was watching at the time). The stories weren't very good; it was mostly random and spur-of-the-moment, but each session was a part of a larger arc, and each arc was part of a much larger story line. After a while, it stopped being just fooling around and became The Story.

About a year ago, I moved away from my friend. I still keep in touch with him from time to time, but I told him I would write The Story on and once I retold everything, I would start up new stuff for him. But It's a year later, and I haven't done anything.

I thought about it, and recently I posted on GaiaOnline for advice. After reading some replies and thinking about it, I decided that instead of retelling the entire Story, I'll just summarize it and follow it with the new stuff. I figured that would make me happier than any alternative.

And to any readers who don't like my presentation of The Story; read something else--I am not doing this for you.

Special thanks go to four people.

Checkerbox, Rilm, and Catzandbirdz from GaiaOnline; thanks for answering my request and helping me regain my motivation.

And of course, to my Friend; this is for you! Thanks for putting up with my year-long slump. And sorry for not calling you as often as I should.

* * *

Arc 0--Prologue. 

The Story is split up into 10 arcs, plus a mini-arc containing me and my friend's exploits on Windows Live Messenger.

This current version of The Story is going to be a little different than what I played out with my friend way back in the beginning. When we first started, I knew next to nothing about the original story line or the overall mythos. So I've ret conned some parts for two reasons; to correct mistakes in the mythos, and to remove plot holes in the Story.

However, I'm just talking about detail work. The Story--itself--is the same.

These summaries have just the important details. I'm not going to record every fact and event just for a prologue. I'll be saving those for the actual stories, if I write them. This prologue is just to let you understand what's happened so far.

The Story takes place right after the first movie, Mask of Light, and right after Turaga Vakama explains his tales of the Toa Metru. The Story ignores everything that happens in the official story line after that point (Voya Nui, etc.). Also, most details about the Brotherhood of Makuta and Mata Nui's origins are original.

Now, on to the summary...

**Summary of Arc 1--Ekiah**.

(_This is the arc that started it all_...)

All the Matoran have successfully returned to Metru Nui, although they can use alternate paths to return to Mata Nui Island whenever they want, without going through Mangaia.

Makuta survived the separation from Takutanuva, but he was in very bad condition. Two new characters, named Ekiah and Hordika, appeared and used his lair to get into Metru Nui. Makuta knew Ekiah and hated him, and so he used the remains of Takanuva's vehicle to recreate the six Rahkshi. However, in addition to one Kraata to give them power, Makuta took a second Kraata and permanently fused it with their armor, allowing these six Rahkshi to have true minds and think for themselves. With Turahk as their leader, but still taking orders from Makuta, the Sentient Rahkshi go to Metru Nui.

Takanuva (who was resurrected by Takutanuva's leftover power) comes to understand that a part of Makuta's power is still inside him, and a part of his power in still in Makuta. The mixture gives them both the power of "Twilight", which is the same power that was used to resurrect Jaller and Takanuva. So Takanuva learns that he and Makuta can both resurrect people. However, Twilight can only be used once per person, and it shortens the user's lifespan. Also, since Takanuva and Makuta are less powerful than Takutanuva, they need the victim's body intact in order to resurrect it.

Hordika, Ekiah's partner, was given his name by Ekiah. He used to be named Dika, an intelligent Matoran inventor from another continent who dreamed of becoming a Toa. Ekiah found him and offered to give him his wish if he worked for Ekiah for one month. Dika agreed. Ekiah somehow created a special sample of energized Protodermis, that could mutate the subject in a controlled way.

Ekiah somehow knew about the original Toa Hordika, and he turned Dika into a dark green copy of a Toa Hordika, renaming him at the same time. Ekiah said he would become a full Toa once his debt was paid. Ekiah used Hordika to build certain machines for him. Ekiah seemed to be working toward a larger goal, but Hordika didn't know what it was.

After arriving in Metru Nui, Ekiah and Hordika split up, and Hordika was attacked by the Sentient Rahkshi right after. The Toa found them and were shocked by both a living Toa Hordika and sentient Rahkshi. The Toa tried to stop the fighting, but they were all interrupted by Ekiah. Ekiah had snuck into the Coliseum, and hacked into the video screen broadcast system, using it to address everyone in the city.

Ekiah said he wanted to kill everything on the planet, but he never really explained why. Using equipment he tricked Hordika into building, he set up a special bomb in the Coliseum, designed to kill every Bio-mechanic life form in the world. The Toa, the Rahkshi, and Hordika, all raced to the Coliseum, but Ekiah and the bomb were in Turaga Dume's box, protected by a force-field.

Hordika used his knowledge to slip through the field, but Ekiah killed him, and no one else could enter. Takanuva used Twilight to resurrect Hordika from the other side of the field, and Hordika was able to destroy the bomb and shut off the force-field. But Ekiah escaped, and the Rahkshi rushed off to look for him.

Hordika was elated that Takanuva resurrected him, even though he worked for Ekiah. In gratitude, Hordika agreed to work with the Toa Nuva, although some members wondered if he could be trusted.

During his absence, Ekiah tried to control Hordika's body using the energized Protosermis inside, but the Toa are able to save Hordika. Later, Ekiah returned with two robotic henchmen, Avialinder and Yager. The two servants were quickly destroyed by the Toa, and the Rahkshi beheaded Ekiah. Under Makuta's orders, the Rahkshi took Ekiah's head and body back to Mangaia.

* * *

Original characters: 

Ekiah:

I built his figure using pieces from the original Tahu, and the Throwbots Torch and Electro (anyone remember Throwbots?). His face/visor was Torch's, and his body was Tahu modified with Electro's parts. He is sadistic and condescending, and thinks nothing about others. He was slightly based on Ikkyu from the Read Or Die OVA, but I was just being random and did practically no character building, but I would later...

Hordika:

A character made up by my friend, using the Matau Hordika figure he just got. "Hordika" was only supposed to be a temporary name, but neither my friend nor I got around to changing it, and the name stuck (well, WE like it). My friend made up the personality, and I came up with the background. Hordika is extremely intelligent, but also naive. He loves inventing, and his prize creation is his Radar, which he constantly modifies to do just about anything. He mostly wants to help people, but when he makes his new friend (which I'll discuss later) he often gets tempted into doing a little mischief.

Sentient Rahkshi:

Turahk is the leader of the group, cold but prideful. Vorahk is his loyal second in command. Kurahk is sadistic, and sometimes dislikes Turahk. Panrahk enjoys destroying things, but is slightly lazy. Guurahk is loyal to Turahk, but he gets nervous easily. Lerahk isn't very smart, and he just goes along for the ride (for now at least).

Avialinder:

Based on Otto Lilienthal from the Read Or Die OVA. I built him using parts from the Throwbots Turbo and Jet. Avialinder was just a head, an engine, and wings. He's a robot rather than a true bio-mech, so he has little personality or free-will. He's extremely prideful about his flying speed and ability, and develops a rivalry with Lewa. He's soon destroyed by Lewa, with a little help from Tahu.

Yager:

I don't know where the idea for this guy came from. Built using parts from the Scuba Throwbot, he's just a hovering torso and arms. He didn't really do anything except "be there" for Ekiah.


	2. Bandris and Yuki

Chaora01 favorited my story the first day I posted it... I'm flattered.

DISCLAIMER: I forgot to do this is the first chapter. Neither my friend nor I own the Bionicle franchise. We also do not own any anime. But we (more or less) own the original characters here.

* * *

**Summary of Arc 2--Bandris**

(_I don't really care much for this arc. It's unoriginal and pointless except for the part with Hordika. Oh, well_.)

A stranger named Bandris showed up in the city right after Ekiah is killed. He used a special machine to animate dead bodies as his servants. Bandris wanted to find the secret of eternal life, and was thus very interested in Takanuva's Twilight power. Bandris acted friendly to the Toa and Matoran in the beginning, but he was secretly kidnapping Matoran to use as live test subjects for his experiments. The Toa (and Hordika) immediately suspected him, and started looking for Bandris' base and his victims.

Meanwhile, Makuta was still slowly healing himself. But when the Rahkshi informed him that Bandris was trying to find eternal life, Makuta became enraged. The Rahkshi suggested that they make Bandris work for Makuta, but Makuta instead told the Rahkshi to kill Bandris immediately. Makuta said he didn't want Bandris experimenting on the Matoran, his potential servants, but the Rahkshi suspected there was another reason...

The Toa found Bandris' hideout and freed the Matoran. Bandris explained his motivation. Back where he came from, Bandris was friends with a woman named Madra, who was terrified of death. Bandris wanted to help her, but the Toa argued that it's no excuse for hurting innocent people. The Rahkshi showed up and tried to kill Bandris, and to everyone's shock, Madra appeared too. She knew Bandris was going to do experiments like these, so she followed him to Metru Nui to stop him.

The Rahkshi launched an attack on Bandris, and Madra tried to take the blow for him, but Bandris took the blow for her instead. Bandris was killed and his body destroyed, so Twilight couldn't resurrect him. Having finished their orders, the Rahkshi returned to Mangaia. With her friend dead, Madra said she no longer had anything to live for, and walked off. She was never seen again, and the Toa assumed she died as well.

Around this point, Makuta decided that he wanted Hordika to work for him, so he gave the Rahkshi orders to kidnap Hordika. Hordika was brought to Makuta and was threatened to do as he ordered. While working for Makuta, Hordika spent most of his free-time talking with Lerahk, and the two started to become friends (at least, as much as a Rahkshi is capable of friendship).

* * *

Original characters:

Bandris:

I decided to bring him into the Story after reading an issue of Shaman King. He's based on Faust VIII, except less creepy. He also got some traits from Morti, a character in .hack//Legend of the Twilight. I built his figure using parts from the original Kopaka, giving him a Krana face and a staff.

Madra:

Her name comes from an Animorph book, the name of the moon of the Yeerk home world. Personality-wise, she was nothing but a plot device. I built her using pieces from the Ski Throwbot, trying to make her look like a tall Matoran.

* * *

**Summary of Arc 3--Yuki**

(_This is my least favorite, least well-written, least original, and most confusing arc. Parts of it are inspired by one of my favorite anime, Shinzo. Despite that, it's still my least favorite_.)

In an alternate timeline, in the past, a meteor containing four life-forms crashed into the planet. One of them was named Millenia, and the other three were her servants. Millenia had the ability to travel through time using a special visor. She sent herself and her servants to the present, where she easily destroyed all the Toa in the world. The Matoran of another continent were able to copy Millenia's biology, and cloned eight beings called Slizers to protect themselves. However, the Slizers were also defeated by Millenia. The eight Slizers fused into two super-Slizers, but Millenia didn't want to deal with them, so she sent them into the past, but she accidentally sent a Matoran named Yuki with them. In the past, the past version of Millenia fused with her three servants and fought the Slizers. After a long battle, the Slizers and Past-Millenia destroyed each other, so Millenia never existed in the present and the alternate timeline never happened.

However, Yuki was left behind in this timeline. He survived to present day until Makuta found him. Makuta offered to give Yuki the materials he needed to recreate the eight Slizers, if Yuki made them work for Makuta. Yuki wanted to see the people who saved him again, so he agreed. Yuki became a high ranker in Makuta's forces, much to the dislike of the Rahkshi and Hordika. In his spare time, Yuki went to Metru Nui to act as a double agent against the Toa Nuva.

The eight Slizers were created and fused into the two super-Slizers. Makuta brought the Slizers, the Rahkshi, and Hordika to Metru Nui to launch an attack on the Toa Nuva. When Yuki tried to save the Toa, Makuta told Turahk to destroy him. After Yuki's death, the Slizers went berserk, and the still-injured Makuta retreated to Mangaia. The Slizers knocked out the Rahkshi, but Hordika helped the Toa Nuva to destroy the Slizers. After that, Hordika officially rejoined the Toa's side, and they agreed to hide him from Makuta.

* * *

Original characters:

Eight Slizers, Millenia, and her servants:

They are all based on the twelve Throwbots. They were originally called Dukes in the Story, but I changed their name to Slizers, since that's the European name for Throwbots. In the Story, I named their throwing arms "Agnees," and they were supposed to be powerful cannons even by Makuta's standards.

Yuki:

He was willing to work for Makuta and even become a villain himself in order to thank the people who saved him, but then regretted what he turned them into. He's about as smart as Hordika, but he can be very rude at times, and doesn't mind making sacrifices when it helps the big picture. He was a Matoran built using black arms and a torso, and a blue Concealment Mask and feet. This arc is about the Yuki from the alternate timeline, so another Yuki still exists in this timeline, but he only made a few brief cameos in the rest of the Story.


	3. Awakening pt1

**Summary of Arc 4--Awakening**

(_There are three things I want to say about this arc. 1:It's the longest arc yet. 2:It's probably the most important arc in the entire Story. 3:It's so much better than the last two arcs_.)

Now that Hordika returned to the Toa Nuva, they wanted to use his knowledge to try and infiltrate Mangaia and find more clues on Mata Nui's location. Since Makuta was still injured, he couldn't use his clairvoyance powers, so this was the only opportunity they'd have. Hordika mentioned that there was one room Makuta wouldn't let anyone enter...

Meanwhile, Makuta was furious at Hordika's absence, and he suspected he went back to the Toa again. He ordered the Rahkshi to find him and bring him back dead or alive. Lerahk seemed upset about these orders...

The Rahkshi secretly searched Metru Nui and Mata Nui Island. Lerahk found Hordika first, and Hordika admitted that he betrayed Makuta. Lerahk was furious that Hordika betrayed his master, but he was hesitant to destroy his friend. When Hordika suggested that Lerahk betray Makuta as well, Lerahk was shocked at the idea, but after some thought, he accepted. Hordika thought the Toa wouldn't trust Lerahk, so he agreed to keep their friendship a secret. And Lerahk agreed to act as a double agent against Makuta and the other Rahkshi.

Meanwhile, Makuta was slowly regaining his strength...

The Toa Nuva borrowed the Masks of Concealment from their Turaga, and Hordika invented a device to turn Takanuva and himself invisible as well. Using the inside information the received from Hordika (who in turn received most of it from Lerahk), the Toa sneaked into Mangaia and headed for the forbidden room. Meanwhile, using Hordika's idea, Lerahk tried to keep the other Rahkshi busy.

The Toa were able to avoid Makuta and eventually entered the hidden room. The room was large and brightly lit, with the light coming from a white and gold, maskless Matoran hanging from the ceiling. They assumed that this was the body of Mata Nui. Since he was maskless, Takanuva hoped placing the Mask of Light on him would awaken him.

But Makuta, who almost completely rehealed, sensed that someone entered his brother's chamber. He teleported himself to the room, and found the Toa and Hordika. Instead of fighting them, Makuta tells them why he placed Mata Nui under the sleeping spell in the first place. The legends the Matoran were taught were wrong; Mata Nui suffered from a deadly neurological disease, and deactivating his mind, such as through sleep, was the only way to slow the disease's progress. If Mata Nui awoke, he would die.

This story shocked the Toa, and it matched Makuta's earlier statements during the fight with Takanuva. The Toa Nuva wondered, if Mata Nui's awakening meant his death, were they created just to destroy him? However, Takanuva wanted to awaken Mata Nui anyway. Not because he thought Makuta was lying, but because he simply thought, "_No matter what the duty is, it's still my duty and I still want to do it_!" Desperate to stop them, Makuta teleported to the Rahkshi, and ordered them to go to the room and stop the Toa. When Kurahk sarcastically stated that they weren't allowed to enter the hidden room, Makuta 'killed' him by removing his powersource Kraata.

The remaining Rahkshi went to the room, but Lerahk refused to fight, since he wanted nothing more to do with Makuta. Turahk was enraged, but Lerahk reminded him how Makuta treated Kurahk. Regardless, the Rahkshi and the Toa fought each other. Makuta reappeared and fought as well, but sacrificed the Rahkshi's safety when he found it convenient.

Ultimately, the Takanuva was able to put his Mask of Light on Mata Nui. In a last-ditch effort, Makuta activated a spell he was saving for this moment, just in case. Since the disease attacked Mata Nui's mind, this spell took Mata Nui's mind and scattered it across the island and city, in the form of 42 Light Kraata, which were Mata Nui's essence instead of Makuta's. The Toa, Hordika, and Lerahk took Mata Nui's empty body and escaped from Mangaia. Turahk took his four wounded followers and left Mangaia as well. Makuta had no reason to stay, so he left too.

The Toa Nuva weren't sure what to do next, but they eventually agreed to restore Mata Nui's mind by finding the Light Kraata and hope for the best. Kopaka, however, believed Makuta's story and refused to help, and he officially quit the Toa Nuva and left the city.

Around the same time, Hordika convinced the Toa Nuva to let Lerahk join them, although the Toa were wary of having a Rahkshi on their side. Lerahk stressed that he wouldn't work for Toa, so he worked for Hordika instead.

The Toa-group soon found one Light Kraata and gave it to Mata Nui's body. His mind returned, but it was on the level of a child, and he had no memories of his life. The Turaga guarded the child-like Mata Nui while the Toa searched for more of his Light Kraata. But the Toa agreed not to give Mata Nui anymore Kraata until they found them all.

Turahk was able to find some of Makuta's Kraata, and used them to revive Kurahk and the other Rahkshi. They agreed to no longer work for Makuta, and instead worked for themselves. Their goals were to find Mata Nui's Kraata, in order to gain power; and to destroy Lerahk and Hordika, who betrayed both Makuta and Turahk.

(_To be continued_...)


	4. Awakening pt2

**Summary of Arc 4--Awakening (Part 2)**

Meanwhile, a powerful mutant named Alakor escaped from a prison on another continent. He sensed the energy from the Light Kraata, and traveled to Metru Nui to try and get them. Takanuva and Onua found Alakor while hunting for Light Kraata, and they got into a fight. But Alakor overpowered them, and Takanuva and Onua were forced to run away.

After that, the Rahkshi found Alakor and realized he was also stealing the Light Kraata. Turahk and Alakor challenged each other to a one-on-one battle. It was a long and brutal fight, but Alakor eventually won. The Rahkshi took the wounded Turahk and ran away. Turahk swore to himself that he would get revenge on Alakor one day.

While all the Toa were gathered in the Coliseum, a robot named A2 appeared and introduced himself. A2 was built by a satellite called ENIAC, which was in orbit above the planet. ENIAC was a machine built on another planet, and it was programmed to protect other planets from dangerous forces. ENIAC was just a machine, so it built A2, an artificially intelligent robot, to carry out its judgements. A2 is an outsider, unable to determine what's 'good' or 'evil', so it targets anything that became stronger than it was originally supposed to be. Right now, A2 says Takanuva, Hordika, and Alakor must devolve themselves or be 'erased from existance.'

Takanuva tried to explain that he was destined to be a Toa, but A2 doesn't believe in destiny. A2 tried to explain that he wasn't trying to be a villain, he and ENIAC were simply doing what they were taught is right. A2 gave Takanuva and Hordika the option to surrender, and gave them several days to decide. A2 left them to their decision. The child-like Mata Nui was napping at that time, so he didn't get an opinion.

Over time, almost all of the Light Kraata were found, split between the Toa, the Rahkshi, and Alakor. ENIAC and A2 also found two Kraata of their own. A2 returns to the Toa, and this time he brought with him E6, a female fighting robot made by ENIAC. Since Alakor is their common enemy, A2 offers the Toa a deal. They work together to defeat Alakor, and in return, A2 not only gives his Kraata to the Toa, but allows Takanuva and Hordika to keep their powers. However, the latter is just a bluff. The Toa agree and take the two Kraata.

A2 and E6 told the Toa that Makuta had returned to Mangaia, and he most likely had the last Light Kraata the whole time. When the Toa realize that ENIAC's enforcers have no intention of letting Takanuva or Hordika off the hook, they quit. Right before A2 and E6 left, the child Mata Nui used his hidden power to turn A2 and E6's artificial souls into real souls.

The Toa tried to sneak into Mangaia, but even though the deal was broken, A2 and E6 decided to tag along. A2 explained that he had a special jamming machine which negated all Dark Kraata powers, so Makuta wouldn't be able to sense them coming. However, mid-way through the journey, E6's radar told her that Makuta quickly escaped from Mangaia. The two groups wondered where he went and how he knew they were coming.

The Toa/ENIAC group returned to Metru Nui and decided to focus on Alakor instead. A2 found Alakor's current location. With both teams working together, they were able to defeat Alakor. To the Toa's surprise, instead of destroying Alakor like they said, E6 and A2 gave Alakor fake memories, giving him the mind of a child. The Toa realize that A2 and E6 have been acting differently since Mata Nui used his power on them. Becoming child-like made Alakor obedient to the Toa, so he gave the Toa all his Light Kraata.

After getting the Rahkshi's location from A2, the Toa and Alakor make another surprise attack. And while Alakor lost his maturity, he retained all his powers. Turahk wasn't ready to fight Alakor again, so the Rahkshi ran away, leaving their Light Kraata. So the Toa had obtained every Light Kraata except the one with Makuta.

A2 used the long-range sensor on ENIAC to locate Makuta; he was hiding in the deepest part of the Archives in Metru Nui. The Toa, A2, E6, and Alakor all journeyed toward his new base, but halfway there, Kopaka appeared and tried to stop them. The Toa realize that it was Kopaka who warned Makuta the first time they tried to get the Kraata. Kopaka said he wasn't working for Makuta, he just warned him that one time. Kopaka honestly believed that Mata Nui would die if he received all his memories, and he wanted no part in risking the Great Spirit's death. E6 offered to stall Kopaka in a fight while the others went to Makuta.

E6 and Kopaka talk with each other while fighting. E6 explains that her and A2's opinion on what the right thing was changed when Mata Nui gave them souls. And E6 helped Kopaka realize that the thing he previously thought was justice, wasn't really that important. Kopaka decided not to do what he was told is his duty, but to protect the people in his home willingly. Kopaka and E6 agreed to end their fight in a draw, and they went to rejoin their allies.

The Toa Nuva, Lerahk, Hordika, and Alakor reached Makuta, and tried to steal the Kraata from him. With some reinforcements from E6 and Kopaka, they finally get the last Kraata, and Makuta is forced to retreat.

The Toa have a meeting with A2 and E6. ENIAC's enforcers decided that they would try harder to decide what was good and evil from now on, and they allowed Takanuva and Hordika to keep their powers. With a final farewell to Mata Nui, ENIAC and its enforcers left the planet, but they promised to visit again one day.

The Toa prepared to restore Mata Nui's memories, and a huge celebration was held at the Coliseum. Some people still believed Makuta's story, but even so they hoped that some good would come out of Mata Nui's true awakening. The Toa gave all the Light Kraata to Mata Nui, and his memories were restored. Mata Nui revealed that the story about his disease really was a lie, and Kopaka was ashamed for believing Makuta. Makuta teleported to the Coliseum and tried to put Mata Nui asleep again, but Mata Nui defeated him easily.

Mata Nui said he was taking Makuta somewhere far away, in the hopes of converting him, and that neither of them might be back for a long time. But before he left, Mata Nui thanked the Toa Nuva, Alakor, Hordika, and Lerahk for helping him. Mata Nui returned Takanuva's Mask of Light, and as a present he gave him a special Mask of Crystal. Mata Nui said this mask would help them very soon.

Meanwhile, Turahk used the energized Protodermis in Mangaia to create the Omni-Kraata, a Kraata which had all 42 different Kraata powers...

* * *

Original characters:

Lerahk:

When I first started the Story, I never expected Lerahk to become an actual character, let alone a protagonist. But one thing led to another and it just happened. Lerahk joins the team as Hordika's best friend. He's not very smart, and he's a slight coward. And while he's not actually evil, but he's very mischievous. He does what the Toa tell him for the most part, but he'll occasionally cause trouble just for the fun of it, and he'll usually drag Hordika along with him.

Alakor:

A character created by my friend. A long time ago, the Brotherhood of Makuta did some experiments with mutated Kraata, but discarded the results. Alakor was born when a Rahi accidentally came into contact with these mutated Kraata, making him a kind of Rahi/Rahkshi crossbreed. Alakor is extremely prideful. Alakor says that he's evil, but in reality, he's just self-serving. He starts working with the Toa simply because he feels like it. Alakor is physically extremely strong, and his main power is Random Reconstitution, causing his other powers to change occasionally. He looks like a black Rahkshi with extra limbs, but the number of limbs, along with other details, often change due to the random altering of his body.

ENIAC:

Not a character exactly, simply a powerful machine. His name comes from the real life ENIAC computer, and it's hinted (but not proven) that this ENIAC originally came from Earth. ENIAC is actually an enormous satellite that never comes down to the surface of a planet. It has the ability to create artificially intelligent robots, but it is not an AI itself.

A2:

In the beginning, A2 (Arbiter 2) was simply a robot, but when Mata Nui turned his artificial soul into a real one, he developed a personality. A2 is intelligent, and tries to solve things the calm and rational way, with varying success. He often gets annoyed by E6's more direct way of doing things. Both he and E6 greatly revere Mata Nui, giving him almost more respect than the Toa do. ENIAC saw from space when Yuki created the Jet Slizer, so it based A2's appearance off him. A2 was built mostly using pieces from the Jet Throwbot, with his wing pieces attached to arms.

E6:

E6 (Eliminator 6) is A2's partner. When Mata Nui gave her a personality, she became the near opposite of A2. Where A2 is a thinker, she's a noise-maker. She loves the thrill of a heated fight, and her brash personality sometimes rub people the wrong way. People often think she's male, which really annoys her. Both she and A2 greatly revere Mata Nui, and would gladly answer any request he makes. She's built using pieces from the Turbo and Electro Throwbots. She's colored black and purple with a little yellow, she has a short humanoid appearance, and she carries a really big scythe.

Mata Nui:

He's not technically an original character, but since he still isn't in the official story line, I took plenty of creative license. Mata Nui is extremely kind and forgiving. He tries to resolve things peacefully, and despite his incredible power, he almost never fights. He has the power to read minds, but he respects people's privacy, so he never does so, not even to villains. Mata Nui wants to help people, but tries not to interfere too much, since he strongly believes in freedom and personal choice. Many people think Mata might be TOO forgiving and naive, but they usually follow him anyway. And he would NEVER allow the Brotherhood of Makuta to be destroyed, since they are not only his former allies, but his brothers. Mata Nui looks like a Metru Nui Matoran with a silver body, a clear Mask of Light, and wings attached to his arms (actually Chronicler staves). He also carries a thick staff (made of the ends of Vorahk's staff).


	5. Back in Time

**Summary of Arc 5--Back in Time**

(_The chapters before this point were written on my computer since before I even had an account on fanfiction .net, but I'll be writing the rest of them as I go along. This means my updates might take longer than before. Sorry_.)

The Toa Nuva, along with Lerahk, Hordika, and Alakor were experimenting with the Crystal mask Mata Nui gave them, trying to learn what it did. When Tahu touched it, his Mask of Time activated on it's own, and the two masks created a hole in space-time. The group awoke in a place they didn't recognize. They talked to some of the local Matoran and learned they were on a continent called Mara Utha, which is were Hordika and Alakor came from. They also learned they were roughly 2000 years in the past.

The village the Toa-group were in was protected by some unusual Toa called the Toa Mara. Raku, Toa of Bohrok; Upmizell, Toa of the Dead; Cracu, Toa of Land Rahi; and Riptein, Toa of Flying Rahi. They were also told of Gihanger, Toa of Protodermis, but he was away on a mission. Most of the continent was ruled by the Matoran Council, who were based in that village. The Toa Mara acted friendly to the Toa Nuva, but the Matoran Council were indifferent to them. The Toa Nuva soon noticed that the Matoran Council treated the Toa Mara like equipment rather than people, for some reason.

A person named Prote invaded the village, claiming to be a Toa of Sound. Prote attacked some Matoran in order to steal some kind of guarded artifact. The Toa Nuva and the Toa Mara worked together to try and stop him, but Prote's powerful sound waves hurt their ears too badly, making them unable to fight. Prote left with the artifact, but before he did he hinted that he knew the Toa Mara, even though they were sure they never met him.

The Matoran Council were furious at the Toa Mara's defeat, and ordered them to find Prote's base and destroy him. The Toa Mara asked the Council if they knew Prote, but the Council refused to answer.

The two Toa groups found an abandoned fortress and assumed Prote might have gone there. When they got near the castle-like base, they heard a strange music that both affected their emotions and tried to render them unconscious. But with effort they were able to overcome it and continue. They found Prote and got into a battle with him. Prote was using his sound waves to win again at first, but Lewa realized he could nullify Prote's power by forcing the air to stand still. Without his main weapon, the Toa were easily able to overpower Prote.

Now helpless, Prote explained his origin, and he also revealed the origin the Toa Mara tried to hide. They all used to be Matoran, but the Matoran Council experimented on them against their will, trying to create Toa they could control. Hundreds of test subjects were used, but Prote and the Toa Mara were the only ones who survived. Prote was the first survivor, but he had several defects, so the Matoran Council threw him into a landfill. But Prote survived, and wanted to destroy the world as an act of revenge.

Prote learned of a powerful monster created by the Brotherhood of Makuta named Violenjigar. The Brotherhood were unable to control Violenjigar, so they separated his body, destroyed the core, and scattered the remains across the continent. Prote wanted to recreate Violenjigar, and the artifact Prote stole earlier was actually a piece of him. Prote had collected all the pieces, and he also killed Toa Mara Gihanger to use his body as extra material.

After explaining all that, Prote caught the Toa off guard and tore Lerahk's mind Kraata out of his body. Using Lerahk's body, Gihanger's body, and all the artifacts he collected, he was able to create a new Violenjigar. Hordika kept Lerahk's mind Kraata safe while the other tried to battle the monster. But Violenjigar and Prote's combined efforts overpowered them, badly damaging Riptein in the process. The Toa were forced to retreat.

Back in the village, Hordika used all the resources available, along with everything he learned from Ekiah, to create a new Rahaga-like body for Lerahk. Hordika told Lerahk that it's only temporary, and he'd make a better body as soon as he's able to. But Lerahk was shaken by the whole ordeal, and just wanted his body left alone for a while.

In view of Riptein's damaged body, the Matoran Council were upset at her poor performance, so they activated a fail-safe in her body, killing her. The Toa Mara had fail-saves as well, so they had no choice but to quitely accept their decision, but the Toa Nuva were furious. They said it was reasons like this Prote was the way he was. However, the Council ignored their complaints.

Eventually, Prote and Violenjigar arrived at the village and began destroying everything in sight. Hordika and Lerahk worked on evacuating the citizens, while the rest fought Violenjigar. At one point, Violenjigar was about to kill the Matoran Council. The Council ordered the Toa Mara to save them, but they chose not to, and the Matoran Council members were killed.

With everyone working together, the Toa were able to weaken Violenjigar. At that point, Prote fused himself with Violenjigar, making him stronger than ever. The Toa wondered, if fusing with Violenjigar made him stronger, why did Prote wait until then to do it? Then they realized that Prote still had his birth defects, and they were now passed on to Violenjigar. Taking advantage his defect, they made Violenjigar overheat and self-destruct.

After the battle, Raku, Upmizell, and Cracu had apparently walked off on their own, and the Toa Nuva never saw them again. Suddenly, the hole in space-time reopened, and the Toa Nuva, Alakor, Hordika, and Lerahk were sent back to their own time.

* * *

Original characters: 

Toa Mara Raku:

The Toa of Bohrok. Created by the Matoran Council. Like all the Toa Mara, they don't like the way the Council treats them, but they have no choice but to obey them. The Toa Mara don't have any element powers, just their mask powers. Raku has the Mask of Bohrok Control, which allows him to animate Krana-less Bohrok bodies. Raku is somewhat gruff, and not very open to strangers, but he treats the Toa Nuva well enough. My friend and I didn't feel like building a new body, so we simply used a Toa Metru Matau to represent him. Looking back, I guess I would have added some Bohrok parts to him.

Toa Mara Upmizell:

The Toa of the Dead. Despite what you might expect from a person of death, Upmizell is very cheerful and friendly, but he's also secretly sad about his role as a Toa Mara. Upmizell has the Mask of Animation, which allows him to animate dead bodies as his puppets. In present day, Bandris found this mask and used it to create his special machine. Like Bandris, Upmizell was built using pieces from the original Kopaka, but his face was a Turaga Onewa's Mind Control mask.

Toa Mara Cracu:

The Toa of Land Rahi. Cracu has the Mask of Explosions, which makes explosions on the ground in order to scare Rahi into submission. Despite his mask power, he cares for Rahi very much. Like with Raku, we simply used a Toa Hordika Nokama figure to represent him.

Toa Mara Riptein:

The Toa of Flying Rahi. Riptein has the Mask of Weather, which lets her control the weather in order to gain the favor of flying Rahi. She also had the ability to transform from a humanoid Toa into a dragon-like Rahi. She was built using pieces from the Ski Throwbot. And just so you know, I named her after a healing skill in the ".hack//INFECTION" video game.

Toa Mara Gihanger:

The Toa of Protodermis. Gihanger has the Mask of Refinement, which allows him to turn liquid Protodermis into solid Protodermis and back again. I PLANNED to put him in the Story when I made him up, but I never found a good place to squeeze him in. If I did put him in the Story, I probably would have used the original Gali and the Scuba Throwbot to build him. One more thing, I named him after an unseen character in the anime "Shinzo".

Matoran Council:

Three Matoran who used to rule the continent of Mara Utha 2000 years ago. They were mainly just tyrannical villains. Not much to say about them. They experimented on Matoran to create Toa they could control, and treated them like tools instead of people.

Prote:

The Toa of Sound (His name is pronounced 'proat' not 'pro-tay'). He was the first experiment of the Matoran Council to survive the transformation, but the process drove him insane. Also, he can't fight for very long because his body overheats in battle; his fatal defect. Unlike the Toa Mara, he has an element and a mask power. He can create sound vibrations which can attack an opponent physically, or damage their eardrums, or affect their emotions. His Mask of Volume can increase the damage of his sound waves and protect himself from his own attacks at the same time. I built him using pieces from the original Tahu and Turaga Nuju, giving him a red and grey color-scheme. I based him mostly on Prof. Webber from the anime "R.O.D. the TV", and I added some traits from the Sound Ninja Trio of "Naruto".

Violenjigar:

A monster whose only purpose is to destroy, making him fit perfectly into Prote's plan. Originally created as a weapon by the Brotherhood of Makuta. He is seemingly mindless and thus impossible to control, but that doesn't bother Prote. Based slightly on the Deathsaurer from "Zoids", and built with pieces from Makuta. The Violenjigar the Toa fought was actually an incomplete version, which was later fused with Prote himself.


	6. Mara Utha pt1

**Summary of Arc 6--Mara Utha**

(_Sorry for the late update. I wanted to do this by Friday, but I didn't. This chapter is also kind of short, but I'll try to do better next time_.)

(_Remember the continent the Toa went to in the past last chapter? In this arc, they'll be returning to the same continent, except in present day, and a different section. Mata Utha is different from the other locations in Bionicle, even the official ones, in that it's an entire continent instead of just an island or a city. Hordika and Alakor both came from this continent, and it's also the location of the remaining members of the Brotherhood of Makuta_.)

Late one night, the citizens of Metru Nui saw Makuta's image in the sky. Makuta said that he broke free from Mata Nui, and he was holding the Great Spirit captive in Mata Utha. He told the Toa Nuva, Hordika, and Lerahk to come there, so he could have his revenge on them. It's obviously a trap, but the Toa needed to save Mata Nui.

The next morning, the Toa Nuva, Takanuva, Lerahk, Hordika, and Alakor boarded a large ship and set sail for the new continent. Mara Utha is actually on the other side of the world, but with Alakor's great strength to push the boat, and Hordika's directions, they reached the continent in just a few hours.

They arrived in a city on Mara Utha's shoreline. The city was populated not only with Matoran, but with seemingly every species there is, so Hordika and Lerahk didn't seem out of place at all. Alakor was a wanted criminal back when he had his memory, but that was in another part of Mara Utha, so none of the people recognized him.

The Toa were worried about being found by the Brotherhood's servants, so they couldn't ask around for Mata Nui by name. Instead they gave a description of his Matoran form, but no one saw him. This continued for a few days, and they occasionally got into a fight with some of the less polite locals. They also fought some bounty hunters working for the Brotherhood, but the Toa won each time.

One day, the team's search brought them to what seemed like an abandoned factory. They enter looking for clues, but they found someone they never expected to see again; Ekiah.

Ekiah explained that he was originally created by Makuta, but Ekiah rebelled. When the Rahkshi killed him the first time, Makuta resurrected him in secret. A person can only be resurrected once, if they're killed again after that, they're dead permanently. Makuta wanted to kill Ekiah for sure before someone else might have resurrected him, but Ekiah escaped a second time.

His body seemed to be damaged, but Ekiah had acquired a new power; space-shifting, which allowed his body to avoid almost any physical or elemental attack. The Toa tried to fight him, but using his new power and the factory's equipment, Ekiah was easily able to overpower them. During the fight Ekiah killed Alakor, and used that opportunity to escape.

Takanuva quickly used Twilight to resurrect Alakor. The others were nervous about this, but Takanuva reasoned that Alakor was their best fighter, and they could use his help. Alakor came back to life, but he also regained all of his memories. The Toa were scared that Alakor would turn on them, but Alakor was only mad at Ekiah, and he didn't see the need to switch sides, to everyone's relief.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood had put Mata Nui asleep temporarily, but they were unable to recreate the full sleeping spell at that time. They began research on building a machine designed to remove all of the target's special powers.

At the same time, after Turahk created the Omni-Kraata, he modified Vorahk's Kraata so that it could absorb a person's powers instead of just their strength. Armed with these new weapons, the Rahkshi attacked Metru Nui, searching for Lerahk and Hordika. The Turaga told them that they, along with the Toa, went to Mara Utha. After hearing this, the Rahkshi started their journey to Mara Utha.

(_To be continued_...)

* * *

Original characters so far: 

Ekiah:

I liked him so much for some reason, I just had to bring him back. During his second appearance, more facts about him are revealed. He originally had one power, the ability to see into the past. He's seen every event and heard every word ever spoken since the creation of the planet. Makuta created him that way in order to gain more knowledge. But the nearly limitless information drove Ekiah insane, and he wanted to destroy the world simply to put an end to the endless fighting between good and evil.

Even though he's insane, the information has given Ekiah a genius level intellect, and he can use that knowledge to create special energized Protodermis (like the kind he used to mutate Hordika) or special potions. He uses these potions to alter his own body, making him immune to Makuta's clairvoyance and giving him the space-shifting power. I based Ekiah's personality on two characters; Ikkyu from "Read Or Die the OVA", and Rau le Creuset from "Gundam Seed."


	7. Mara Utha pt2

Author's notes: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this time. I seriously didn't expect this to take so much longer than my other chapters. And I'm thankful that Chaora 01 is such a patient reader.

* * *

**Summary of Arc 6--Mara Utha (Part 2)**

The Rahkshi reached Mara Utha's shoreline. The villagers were scared at first, but when they heard the Rahkshi speak, they assumed they weren't actual Rahkshi. The Rahkshi asked the villagers if they saw Hordika or Lerahk, but with no luck. The Rahkshi started searching on their own.

Meanwhile, after several failed attempts, the Brotherhood of Makuta built a machine with a "Power Cancel" ability, and used it on Mata Nui. Then the Brotherhood realized that the Rahkshi which betrayed Makuta came to the continent. While they were distracted by this, Mata Nui was able to escape from their base. The instant the Brotherhood realized this, they started an all-out hunt for him. Even though Mata Nui couldn't use any of his powers, he was still protected from the Brotherhood's mind reading, so they couldn't find him with clairvoyance.

The Toa entered a city which was under the thumb of a Brotherhood member named Dyuma. The Toa tried to keep a low profile and search the town. They found a building that looked like an abandoned research lab. After looking through everything inside, they found a prototype weapon with the Power Cancel ability. Hoping they could use it later, they hid the weapon in Lerahk's artificial body.

The Brotherhood sensed the Toa's presence in Dyuma's city. They wanted to do the first strike against the Toa, but Dyuma told them not to; they were in his city, so he wanted to take care of it in his own way. Makuta stressed that the Toa shouldn't be underestimated again, but Dyuma wouldn't listen.

Dyuma sent a dragon-like Rahi into the city to attack the Toa. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to test the new weapon, Lerahk did a Power Cancel on the Rahi, and it worked perfectly. The Toa quickly defeated the powerless dragon after that.

Dyuma's castle was in the direct center of the city. The Toa decided to bring the fight to him and entered the castle, but Dyuma made no effort to stop them. It was obvious that he didn't think of the Toa group as a threat (which personally offended Alakor). They entered the throne room and met Dyuma in person, and he demonstrated his ability to control matter and create impenetrable shields. He knocked Lerahk unconscious and started the fight. During the fight he told the Toa, "_You are nothing compared to __**them**_."

Since Dyuma couldn't be hurt by any attack, he was confident he couldn't lose. Using that arrogance against him, Pohatu was able to take the weapon out of Lerahk's body before Dyuma even noticed. And not even Dyuma's shields could protect him from Power Cancel's effect. Dyuma was permanently unable to use his powers. In shock, he was forced to escape from his own castle.

At another of the Brotherhood's bases, they began to search for a way to undo the effect of Power Cancel. The other Brotherhood members were angry at Dyuma's actions, but they needed all the members they had to catch the Toa, Mata Nui, and Ekiah. Enraged by his mistake, Dyuma swore he would kill the Toa soon.

The Toa left the city and began searching again. Surprisingly, Mata Nui was the one to find them. After he escaped from the Brotherhood, he snuck into a building similar to a radio station and sent a message into space, asking A2 and E6 for help. Almost instantly, the ENIAC satellite came into orbit and the two enforcers came down to the surface to help Mata rejoin the Toa. However, Mata Nui was still powerless, and the group decided to stay in the continent and search for a way to restore his powers.

Soon enough, the Brotherhood sensed the Rahkshi near one of their bases. Makuta wanted to destroy them for their treason, but he knew they needed powerful minions, so he captured them instead. Turahk knew that they couldn't outfight ALL the members of the Brotherhood, so they had no choice but to surrender. The sentient Rahkshi then became Dyuma's bodyguards, and they were given strict orders to never harm him.

Meanwhile, Ekiah was perfecting a new formula for energized Protodermis...

(_To be continued_...)

* * *

Original characters so far: 

Dyuma:

Dyuma is different from the other members of the Brotherhood of Makuta because he is not one of the original members; he joined the group after the Brotherhood was founded. Therefore, he is not literally a brother of the other members, or Mata Nui. Also, instead of controlling shadows, he controls matter. Dyuma can create Protodermis in any form he likes, and he usually makes it into a barrier to protect himself. He looks like a red and blue Toa with four arms, and he is extremely prideful about the Brotherhood's strength, blaming Makuta's loss on a fluke. He was inspired by "Shinzo's" Ryuma (hence the name), but his personality is more like Muruta Azrael from "Gundam SEED." During his first fight with the Toa, he mentioned "them," but the Toa had no idea who he was talking about.

The other Brotherhood of Makuta members:

Nothing about the Brotherhood of Makuta has been revealed in LEGO's official story line, so I made up my own members. Aside from Dyuma, there are four members. They are all Mata Nui's brothers. Their powers are mostly the same except in addition to the element of shadows, they each have a unique sub-element, which gives them certain traits. None of the new members have actually appeared in the Story yet, except for a few short meetings when all the members were needed. Therefore, I never actually used figures for them or even thought about what they look like. I will give them a bigger role once the new Stories start.

Misakra: This is the Makuta we know, the one who was in Metru Nui and who fought the Toa. The official story confirmed that 'Makuta' wasn't his real name, so I felt I should give him a new one. His sub-element is sleep, which is why he was the one guarding the sleeping Mata Nui.

Thea: His sub-element is night. (His name is pronounced Thee-ah, not They-ah.)

Dorin: His sub-element is pain.

Spiritas: His sub-element is hate. Like Thea and Dorin, he is named after a wandering AI from the ".hack" video games.

* * *

More author's notes: 

I was reading Wikipedia the other day, learning about the new updates in the official story, when I found out that Toa Mahri Matoro has a mask called the Mask of Reanimation, and it has the exact same powers as the Mask of Animation I already made up (even the name is similar)! This depresses me because it means my idea is no longer original. ;..(

If you're a .hack fan, you might have noticed this. Power Cancel is a complete cheap copy of Data Drain. At least, it was supposed to be.

And as a fresh reminder, the Toa's group now consists of: The six Toa Nuva, Takanuva, A2, E6, Hordika, Lerahk (who is in the body of a Rahaga), Alakor (who has all of his memories), and Mata Nui (who can't use his powers).


	8. Mara Utha pt3

Author's notes: I'M NOT DEAD! THIS FIC WASN'T CANCELLED! I'm not just sorry; I'm _ashamed_ of that long hiatus. I will never complain about another story's slow update again. _Ever_.

* * *

**Summary of Arc 6--Mara Utha (Part 3)**

Ekiah found three Matoran criminals and mutated them into living weapons. Unlike the energized Protodermis used to mutate Hordika, the type used to mutate these Matoran would kill them if they didn't keep taking it, which ensured their loyalty to Ekiah.

He took these new minions and broke into another of the Brotherhood's research labs. The Toa's group happened to be on their way to the same lab, and a fight started. Alakor fought the three mutants on his own; they were weak individually but very fast, so Alakor was particularly annoyed during the battle. The rest of the Toa's group tried to capture Ekiah, but his space-shifting armor still protected him. Eventually, Ekiah found what he was looking for and ordered the three mutants to retreat.

Ekiah was looking for DNA from a Kahgarak. In one of his underground bases, he used that DNA to clone a whole Kahgarak-type Visorak. Using the Visorak, he opened a gate into the world of darkness and freed Krahka, who had been trapped there since the Visorak invaded Metru Nui a thousand years earlier. Ekiah gave Krahka a brief update on what happened since her imprisonment, and requested that she join his team. Krahka refused, and Ekiah surprisingly let her go, but not before secretly taking some of her DNA.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Makuta made a new set of Rahkshi to work with Dyuma and the Sentient Rahkshi. Dyuma decided to capture Ekiah, since he was smart enough to find a way to restore Dyuma's powers. The Brotherhood was unable to sense Ekiah or his three mutants, but they could sense Krahka as she left his base, so Dyuma took the eleven Rahkshi and started moving.

Ekiah created a clone of Krahka using her DNA. Unlike the real Krahka, the clone was completely loyal to Ekiah. Under orders, the clone went above ground and kidnapped Mata Nui. Shortly after, the Toa's group found the real Krahka, and realized the kidnapper was a clone. Krahka was furious that a clone was made of her, and she agreed to lead the Toa's group to Ekiah's latest base and rescue Mata Nui.

The Toa's group, Krahka, Dyuma, and the Rahkshi all broke into Ekiah's underground base at about the same time. Multiple battles ensued. Alakor fought the three mutants again. Krahka fought her clone. And the Rahkshi fought the Toa, A2, E6, Hordika, and Lerahk. In the end the Krahka clone was destroyed, along with all the non-sentient Rahkshi, except for the Lerahk copy.

The Toa's group found Mata Nui and escaped with him. Ekiah escaped with his mutants. Dyuma found Krahka, and used the Sentient Rahkshi to threaten her into working for him (at this point, Dyuma's team consisted of himself, the Sentient Rahkshi, minus sentient Lerahk, plus non-sentient Lerahk, and Krahka). Krahka, like the Rahkshi, is forced to obey Dyuma, but she argues with his orders very frequently.

The Toa's group continued searching through the Brotherhood's research labs. Unknown to them, the next lab on their list happened to be Dyuma's current base of operations. Dyuma was growing increasingly angrier with the Toa since they first defeated him. When he saw the group on his security camera, he activated a self-destruct on his base. Krahka criticized him for that, since his priority was supposed to be re-capturing Mata Nui, but Dyuma merely pushed her aside and walked to the exit. Krahka grabbed Dyuma and tried to force him to disengage the self-destruct, but Dyuma refused. After giving a brief 'thank you' to Krahka, Turahk and his Rahkshi took the opportunity to make their escape, and they took the non-sentient Lerahk with them.

On the way out of the base, the Rahkshi ran into the Toa's group. Turahk didn't want Dyuma to have the satisfaction of destroying the Toa, so he warned the group about the self-destruct. The Rahkshi quickly flew out of the building, but the Toa's group feared they wouldn't be fast enough. Mata Nui couldn't use his own teleportation power, so in a last-ditch effort he transferred his energy to Takanuva, and Takanuva was just barely able to teleport everyone away.

Dyuma saw everything on his security camera. He tried to take his rage out on Krahka, but she simply transformed into a snake-like creature and tunneled her way out. Dyuma was killed as the building blew up.

The Brotherhood wasn't too concerned about Dyuma's death. They still had Ekiah and the Toa's group to deal with. Makuta/Misakra volunteered to handle Mata Nui in order to make up for letting him awaken. The other three members began a manhunt for Ekiah…

…But they may have been too late. Ekiah just finished his worst invention ever.

(_To be concluded…_)

* * *

Original characters so far: 

Ekiah's three mutants:

They were obviously based on the biological CPUs in Gundam Seed. I built them simply by replacing the arm of three first-generation Matoran with swords or staves. After mutating them, Ekiah renamed them Death, Demise, and Destruction. They follow Ekiah's orders simply because they like fighting, and during battles they focus mainly on Alakor. They must keep taking Ekiah's energized Protodermis, but only as a way of keeping them alive, it doesn't re-transform them.

Krahka:

Again, not technically an original character, but I felt I should mention her somewhere in here. I read both Bionicle Adventure #3 and 8, and I liked the character of Krahka so much I just had to bring her into The Story. Book 3 mentions that Krahka transforms into a half Rahkshi, half Toa for a split second. I'm pretty sure it was never confirmed, but in my mind, this is Krahka's true form (however, she never uses it in The Story). After escaping from Dyuma's base, she turned into a swimming Rahi and returned to the Archives in Metru Nui.

* * *

More author's notes: 

Only one more chapter to go until the end of this arc. You've been waiting so long, I hope it lives up to your expectations. I swear, profusely, that the next chapter will come sooner than _five months_. T-T


	9. Mara Utha pt4

Updated: 1/21/08 (Two weeks... not that bad.)

* * *

**Summary of Arc 6--Mara Utha (Part 4)**

Ekiah built EMBRACER, a flying Exo-Toa like suit that could create bombs guaranteed to kill any biomechanical life form (EMBRACER stands for Electro-Magnet Builder And ConnEctoR). After Ekiah gave one last dose of Protodermis to his minions, he told them to keep his enemies busy while he planted his bombs across the world. Once his bombs were in position, Ekiah would trigger them all at once.

A2's radar immediately detected the large amount of electro-magnetic energy coming from Ekiah's new suit. But before they could move out, Death, Demise, and Destruction attacked the Toa's group. Alakor volunteered to keep them busy while the others went after Ekiah. Alakor had a long battle with the three mutants, but eventually, they self-destructed as their Protodermis wore out.

The Toa's group caught up with Ekiah, but EMBRACER's weapons were too powerful even for the Toa Nuva. E6 got the idea of using the laser cannon from the ENIAC satellite, but A2 didn't think it would work, since Ekiah was moving too fast to target. The Toa, Hordika, and Lerahk all worked together to hold Ekiah down while A2 set the coordinates. Ekiah thought they were bluffing, because this way they wouldn't have enough time to move before the laser hit. But Takanuva tapped into Mata Nui's energy once again and teleported the group away the instant before the laser struck Ekiah. EMBRACER was destroyed, along with one of Ekiah's arms and both his legs. Ekiah himself was unconscious, but alive.

Because of a machine A2 built earlier, the Brotherhood of Makuta had been unable to sense the Toa's group. But when they saw the giant laser blast coming from the sky, they had a good idea who was responsible for it. Misakra sent a message to that area telling the Toa and Mata Nui where his current base was. The Toa's group was reluctant at first to go into such an obvious trap, but they figured it was the best chance at restoring Mata Nui's powers. Besides, they needed to settle things with the Brotherhood.

Misakra's current base was surprisingly not a real building, just a few computers in the middle of a wasteland. When the Toa arrived at the site, Misakra revealed the Brotherhood's latest plan. At their main base, the other members were sending a signal into orbit, trying to hack into ENIAC's computer systems and activate the laser cannon. A2 and E6 immediately rushed to the closest computer to try and disrupt the transmission. Alakor, Hordika, and Lerahk protected Mata Nui while the Toa fought Misakra.

Misakra still had some of Takanuva's power inside him. Tapping into it, along with his shapeshifting power, he transformed into a weaker version of Takutanuva. The Toa Nuva fused into Toa Nuva Kaita, but even they fell against the powered-up Misakra. So, they transferred their remaining energy to Takanuva. Takanuva and Misakra took their duel to the sky.

A2 and E6 got back some control of ENIAC, but they were unable to shut down the Brotherhood's transmission. It would only be a matter of time before the Makutas activated the laser cannon. As a last resort, A2 and E6 brought the ENIAC satellite out of orbit and put it on a collision course for the planet. Takanuva realized what was happening, and forced Misakra into the path of the satellite. ENIAC was destroyed (no big deal; it was just a machine, not a true A.I. like A2 or E6). Misakra lived, but he was defeated instantly.

Now that they had more time to work with, A2 and E6 hacked into the Brotherhood's computer network and discovered a way to restore Mata Nui's powers. The Great Spirit was back at full strength once again.

Mata Nui decided to stay behind in Mara Utha, and try one last time to rehabilitate the Brotherhood of Makuta, starting with the wounded Misakra. A2 and E6 didn't really mind being stuck on the planet, and they decided to travel across the continent. Mata Nui teleported the Toa, Hordika, Lerahk, Alakor, and Ekiah back to Metru Nui. Under Mata Nui's orders, Ekiah was locked in the highest security prison, despite being in a coma. If he ever regained consciousness, he would have to stand trial.

* * *

Author's notes: I've finally finished Arc 6! (It only took me half a year.) Now we can move on to Arc 7! Before that, I just want to re-explain one thing. There are now two Lerahks; the original, (mostly) good one working for the Toa, who is in the body of a Rahaga; and the non-sentient one working for the Rahkshi (who will now be called Non-Lerahk). That's all. 


	10. Cromilis

Updated: 2/27/08 (Took a bit longer than I wanted, but still not that bad.)

Author's notes: This arc is shorter than the last one. But because of that, I was able to put the whole arc into this chapter—I didn't split it up like arcs 4 and 6. Then again, do you prefer it when I split the arc into pieces? Either way, the arc after this one will be much longer, so it'll be split into at least two parts (plot-wise, it's split into two parts anyway). But before we get ahead of ourselves, I hope you enjoy THIS arc.

* * *

**Summary of Arc 7--Cromilis**

(_After their adventure in Mara Utha, the Toa thought they wouldn't have to deal with Brotherhood members for a while. Well, they were half-right._)

Lerahk had been in the body of a Rahaga ever since Prote destroyed his original body. Hordika had been working in his spare time ever since then to create a new, better body for Lerahk, and after returning from Mara Utha, he completed a dark-blue Toa Hordika-like body and transferred Lerahk's mind Kraata to it.

Shortly after, a stranger appeared on the shores of the city. The Toa confronted him, and he introduced himself as Cromilis, an ex-member of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Cromilis claimed he wasn't there to cause trouble, he was simply passing through. He explained that he joined the Brotherhood with his brother Dyuma four thousand years ago, but Cromilis couldn't stand how vain and prideful Dyuma was becoming, so he quit. The Toa were worried for how he'd react, but they told Cromilis that Dyuma died while trying to kill them and Mata Nui. Cromilis didn't seem surprised, and he left the city soon after.

A few days later, Toa Onua found a portal inside the Archives. He, Pohatu, and Takanuva went through the portal and appeared in a city called Una Nara. The three explored the city and became acquainted with its leader, a Rahaga named Kala.

Kala explained that the city was being harassed by a shapeshifter who called itself Krakaka. Krakaka stole money and valuable items but no one could capture it because no one knew what it really looked like. The three Toa volunteered to help capture the shapeshifter.

The three returned to Metru Nui and talked with the other Toa (plus Hordika, Lerahk, and Alakor). They wondered if Krakaka and Krahka were actually the same person. Onua looked through the Archives until he found Krahka. Krahka said she didn't know about the portal, and didn't have any interest in money. Onua believed her, and left. The Toa's group decided to go through the portal and explore the city again, but Kopaka was busy, and Alakor didn't want to, so the group went without them.

After arriving in Una Nara, the group split up and searched for clues. But Krakaka, in the "form" of normal villagers, tried to attack each of them with traps and wild animals. The Toa survived each attack, of course. They regrouped, and they eventually realized that Krakaka wasn't a shapeshifter at all. It was just a gang of villagers pretending to be the same person in order to commit crimes. Working with Kala, the Toa's group was able to capture each one of the fake shapeshifters.

The Toa's group returned to Metru Nui and explained what happened to Kopaka and Alakor. The next day, Kopaka decided to go with the Toa and see Una Nara for himself. But when they arrived, Kopaka's Mask of X-Ray Vision revealed something shocking. Everything in Una Nara, including the people, was an illusion.

The Toa Nuva all activated their Masks of Vision and searched through the town looking for anything that's real. They soon noticed a gate that even the Great Masks couldn't see through. The "villagers" explained that gate lead to the Land of Time, a mysterious place no one in the city dared to go. The Toa's group ignored their warnings and went through the gate.

The Land of Time was a frozen wasteland. Inside they met a villager who called herself Vahinohagah, or the Guardian of Time. She explained that the people were Legerdemains: living illusions that could think for themselves, but Vahinohagah was the only one aware that she was an illusion. The entire city was created by Cromilis. Cromilis created an adventure in Una Nara, in hopes that the Toa would become attached to the city and the people. Eventually, Cromilis would threaten to destroy all the people he created, unless the Toa gave him both the Mask of Time and the Crystal Mask (the one Mata Nui gave them, which made the group go back in time). Cromilis wanted to alter the past.

The Toa came up with a plan. They gave the Mask of Time to Vahinohagah, since she clearly wasn't loyal to Cromilis. Vahinohagah used the mask's power along with her own power to freeze Una Nara's "time." This way, even if Cromilis stopped maintaining the illusion, it wouldn't disappear immediately.

From where he was hiding, Cromilis realized what happened and that his plan backfired. Enraged by his creation's betrayal, he tried to erase the city. The city's disappearance would be a slow process thanks to the mask, but it would still happen eventually.

Due to Cromilis' efforts, some people in Una Nara "broke"—they lost parts of their bodies, or they started speaking nonsense. The Toa realized the city wouldn't last much longer, but before they could do anything about it, Cromilis came to the Land of Time and tried to steal the mask directly.

Cromilis attacked Vahinohagah and killed her. Without her power working with the Mask of Time, all of Una Nara ceased to exist, and the group was sent back to the Archives. The Toa Nuva combined their powers and trapped Cromilis in a Protodermis cage.

The Toa wondered why Cromilis wanted to alter the past in the first place…

* * *

Original characters: 

Lerahk:

Since he has a new body now, I figured I should update his profile. Lerahk is now a dark blue Toa Hordika (but he stesses that he's NOT a Toa). This is the body that he uses for the rest of The Story. He has very weak power over shadows, but his best feature is his Healing Rhotukas. Lerahk's still a coward so he hardly ever fights anyway, but his Rhotukas have helped the Toa more than once.

Cromilis:

He is Dyuma's brother. Dyuma's power was creating matter, and Cromilis' power is creating illusions. He quit the Brotherhood when Dyuma turned into an overconfident jerk (Could this change have something to do with the "them" Dyuma mentioned? Ooh, foreshadowing). Ever since then, Cromilis became listless and just wandered the world. Cromilis looks like a green and silver Toa Metru. His power over illusion was inspired by Gorm's power, from the TV show "Galidor."

Krakaka:

They're extremely minor villains. I just wanted to mention the idea of a group of people pretending to be a master of disguise was taken from 'John Smith' of the anime "R.O.D. the TV."

Vahinohagah:

The only Legerdemain in Una Nara who knew the city's true nature. Cromilis created her to help him use the Mask of Time once he obtained it, but he didn't expect her to turn against him. "Vahi" and "hagah" are Bionicle words meaning "time" and "guardian," I think. She's a black Matoran who wears a replica of the Mask of Time. She was inspired by the Second Hand of Time, from the anime "D.N.Angel."

* * *

More author's notes: 

My arcs often seem to end so abruptly. I wonder why? Oh, well.

I've also noticed my stories feature a lot of people dying, especially after their first introduction (They weren't real people in this case, but still). I should probably cut down on that.


	11. Ten Slayers pt1

Updated: 5/15/08 (Yeah, I know).

Author's notes: Summer's started. That means I should be able to update more often. And no, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Updates WILL be more frequent (at least, I hope).

* * *

**Summary of Arc 8--Ten Slayers (part 1)**

(_As if the bad guys in THIS dimension weren't enough..._)

One day the Toa received a message from Mata Nui. He stressed that he wasn't in danger, but he wanted the Toa to help him with something in Mara Utha. The seven Toa, along with Hordika, Lerahk, and Alakor (he had nothing better to do) made another journey to Mara Utha.

When they arrived they found something surprising. Mata Nui was alright like he said, but now Makuta/Misakra was working for him. Mata Nui put special gauntlets on Misakra, which prevented him from using his powers unless Mata Nui allowed it. Mata Nui admitted it wasn't a perfect solution, but it would keep Misakra out of trouble.

The other members of the Brotherhood had locked themselves in a special vault that only Mata Nui could force open. But Mata didn't want them to leave. A monster had appeared in Mara Utha that seemed to be drawn to beings of great power, such as the Brotherhood. This is why Mata Nui asked the Toa for help. No one knew what this monster was, but it was more powerful than Misakra alone, and Mata's light powers didn't even seem to affect it.

The monster was similar to a weapon-less Vahki, and its greatest feature was brute physical strength. Mata Nui's light power still couldn't harm it, and neither could Takanuva's. The other Toa and Misakra worked together to fight the monster, and were eventually able to defeat it. Interestingly, the body disappeared after losing.

They didn't have much time to celebrate however; another monster appeared in a nearby area. This one was just as strong as the first, but it was made out of blades and swords and it could split itself into pieces. Eventually, the Toa's group defeated it as well. This one's body also disappeared.

After scanning both monsters with his Radar, Hordika was able to learn some things about these creatures. They came from another dimension made entirely of energy, and they moved to this dimension by using special machines (hereafter called Matter-Conversion Engines) to turn their energy into physical matter. Hordika theorized that these creatures kept disappearing because their Matter-Conversion Engines broke down when they were defeated, sending the creatures back to their home dimension.

The group realized that after coming into their dimension, these creatures were attracted to powerful beings, like Mata Nui and Misakra. Mata Nui didn't want to put Mara Utha in unnecessary danger, especially since he didn't have much influence there, so the group agreed to return to Metru Nui.

Kopaka was still angry at Misakra for tricking him back before Mata Nui's awakening. After returning to the city, he waited until Misakra was by himself, and attacked him. But since Kopaka was alone, Misakra was able to defeat him even without his powers. Misakra was amused by Kopaka's want for revenge. He gave Kopaka an Infected Mask, but he said this mask wouldn't turn the wearer into a slave, it would make them stronger. He told Kopaka to do whatever he wanted with it. Kopaka didn't trust Misakra for an instant. Despite that, he kept the mask and didn't tell anything to Mata Nui.

Shortly after, Hordika and Lerahk found the Infected Mask in Kopaka's possession. Once they figured out Kopaka attacked the supposedly reformed Misakra, they decided to blackmail the Toa. And so, to prevent the two of them from telling Mata Nui, Kopaka was forced to do whatever they asked (this usually consisted of making snowballs and snow cones).

Then, the third monster appeared in Metru Nui, drawn to Mata and Misakra just as they expected. This monster was similar to a giant Visorak spider. After dealing with the first two, the Toa's group defeated this one without much trouble.

No new monsters appeared for several days, leaving Kopaka nothing to do but obey Lerahk and Hordika's endless demands. One day, as he was supplying ammo for yet another of Lerahk and Hordika's snowball fights, Kopaka snapped. After nearly scaring the two of them to death, he ran straight to Mata Nui and told him everything, including how he attacked Misakra out of revenge. For what Kopaka did, and for Lerahk and Hordika keeping it secret, Mata Nui sentenced all three of them to near-countless hours of community service.

Right after Kopaka's little breakdown, another creature materialized in the city. Surprisingly, this one this one looked like a normal person, and it was holding a puppet in the shape of a Matoran. Even more surprising, this one could talk. He explained (talking with his puppet) that he was the fourth in a group of Ten Slayers. The Slayers were the most dangerous criminals in their home dimension. But the puppeteer wouldn't explain why they were coming to this dimension. Instead, he started using his puppet to absorb all the energy from the Matoran and placed the energy into a special jar. The Toa, along with Misakra and Alakor, tried to stop him, but most of their energy was absorbed too.

Just when things seemed hopeless, A2 and E6 arrived and attacked the puppeteer (Since they are totally mechanical, instead of Bio-mechanical, they don't have life energy to be absorbed). As A2 and E6 were traveling on their continental journey, they heard a rumor that Mata Nui returned to Metru Nui, and so they decided to follow him and see if he needed help. And it's a good thing they did.

The two robots separated the puppeteer from his puppet, broke the special jar, and restored everyone's energy. E6 was about to attack the puppeteer, but A2 realized that the puppet was a Slayer as well, just pretending to be fake. The puppet tried to run away (after unsuccessfully 'playing dead'), but E6 quickly finished it off. The puppeteer went missing.

The next day, the puppeteer returned and started rampaging. Even though he was seemingly being used by the puppet, he was a powerful fighter in his own right. But once again, A2 and E6 were totally immune to his power, and they defeated the puppeteer in short order.

Later, Mata Nui asked Misakra about the Infected Mask he gave Kopaka. Misakra said the mask had no powers, good or bad (since he was still wearing the gauntlets, he _couldn't_ have made any super-powered masks without Mata Nui knowing it). Misakra said he gave Kopaka a fake mask simply to have fun. Hordika's Radar confirmed that it really was a powerless mask.

Mata Nui is optimistic, but not careless. Was Misakra planning something…?

(_To be continued…_)

* * *

Original characters so far:

The 10 Slayers:

I don't know why I called them "Slayers." I didn't take that name from anything I watch, it just kind of happened. They were somewhat inspired by the Angels from "Neon Genesis Evangelion." I never watched that show, but I read on a website that they enter our dimension by transforming their energy into matter (I'm not sure if that's what they actually do, though). I needed some new material after the Cromilis Arc finished, so I used that. The 10 Slayers are 10 dangerous criminals from a dimension of energy, and they are using Matter-Conversion Engines to move to the Toa's dimension. They are immune to Light energy, and their objectives have yet to be revealed.

1st Slayer: The strongman. Really simple. I just grabbed one of my friend's Vahki figures and we started playing.

2nd Slayer: The blade man. Just as simple. I gave this one a power of separating his body into pieces.

3rd Slayer: The Visorak clone. I wasn't even trying to do anything with the first three. They were really only setup for the rest of the Arc.

4th Slayer: The Puppet. This one was more of an actual character. I based him on the evil dummy from one of the "Sailor Moon" television movies, "The Return of Haruka and Michiru." The idea was to make him seem like just a prop for the next Slayer, and then be revealed as the true mastermind.

5th Slayer: The Puppeteer. The idea behind this character was to seem like a villain, but then be revealed to be more of a 'puppet' than his prop, and THEN become a nasty villain on his own. After the Puppet's defeat, I based his mannerisms on Gyasa, from "Shinzo." However, his powers are nothing like Gyasa's. He tries to blow people up by touching their bodies and making their energy overload.

* * *

More author's notes: Okay, I've been off the ball for a while. But now that summer's here I might be able to pick The Story up again. This chapter marks the beginning of Kopaka's strong dislike for Lerahk and Hordika, and their continual fear of his future revenge. Everything around Hordika and Lerahk is a good source of comic relief in The Story, but I feel I haven't expressed that very well in this summary format. Hopefully, I'll be able to fix that.


	12. Ten Slayers pt2

Updated: 6/5/08. I meant to finish this before the end of the month, but… Sorry.

**Summary of Arc 8—Ten Slayers (part 2)**

No new Slayers appeared for several days. This left Hordika, Lerahk, and Kopaka a lot of free time to do their community service (Hordika and Lerahk made sure to work far away from Kopaka).

A Matoran from Mara Utha appeared secretly in Metru Nui. His name was Jaro, and he had the power to teleport himself and others. Jaro snuck into the Archives and found the Protodermis cage that contained Cromilis. Jaro used his power to teleport the unconscious Cromilis out of the cage, but Cromilis woke up unexpectedly right after. Disoriented, Cromilis summoned a Legerdemain monster to attack Jaro. Jaro panicked and teleported Cromilis to the inside of the nearest volcano. After that, Jaro teleported himself and the cage out of the Archives.

Eventually, Toa Onua noticed that Cromilis and the cage were missing. He informed Mata Nui, but neither he nor Misakra could sense Cromilis' presence and neither could Hordika's Radar. To be safe, Mata sent Misakra and the Toa on a search across the city, and in Mata Nui Island.

Misakra encountered Jaro and began talking with him. Misakra gave Jaro the power to teleport during Arc 6, and Jaro was secretly acting under Misakra's orders ever since, although killing Cromilis was unintentional. Jaro panics whenever he's in danger of dying. After giving Jaro his next orders, Misakra left and pretended to keep searching.

Jaro tried to teleport Takanuva to Mangaia, but he wasn't able to. Jaro suspected that the Mask of Light was protecting Takanuva, and he realized he had to get that mask off. Jaro went to Takanuva and tried to fight him. Despite being only a Matoran, his teleporting gave Jaro a powerful advantage. But Takanuva won anyway. Takanuva asked Jaro what the attack was about, but Jaro wouldn't answer, and he teleported to safety.

The Toa regrouped with Mata Nui and Takanuva explained what happened to him. Mata Nui didn't remember ever meeting Jaro, and Misakra claimed he knew nothing as well. (Mata Nui couldn't read the mind of someone as strong as Misakra. But even if he could, he wouldn't because it would be an 'invasion of privacy.' Yeah, Mata Nui's a little naive.)

A little later, Jaro found Takanuva seemingly alone. Jaro attacked, but Takanuva had an ambush prepared. All of the Toa came out of hiding and tried to capture Jaro. Jaro was defeated again, but he teleported away. However, Hordika was able to scan Jaro with his Radar before he escaped. Misakra knew that it wouldn't be long before the Toa captured Jaro and found out about the connection between them. The two secretly regrouped in Mangaia.

Misakra's plan was to put Takanuva under a sleeping spell. Since Takanuva is linked to Mata Nui, the latter would be weakened enough to be trapped in the Protodermis cage. But since Misakra was running out of time, he switched to plan B. He had something else that was linked to Mata Nui; the gauntlets. After much effort, he tore them off and forced them on Jaro.

Mata Nui knew right away that the gauntlets were removed, so he teleported everyone to Mangaia. They found Misakra trying to put Jaro under a sleeping spell, but they rescued him. Jaro explained what happened, and the Toa battled with Misakra. The Protodermis cage was destroyed in the fight. Ultimately, the Toa were able to restrain Misakra long enough for Mata Nui to place him under his own sleeping spell.

Sleeping spells are shadow-based spells, so Mata Nui can't perform it very well and Misakra (being the Makuta of Sleep) has a natural resistance against it. Therefore, Misakra would be asleep for most of the time, but he will awaken now and again. Misakra retreated into another chamber of Mangaia, and the others returned to Metru Nui.

Jaro agreed to return to Mara Utha and turn himself over to the authorities. He promised he wouldn't try to escape as long as they agreed to not execute him. Almost immediately after he saw Jaro off, Mata Nui learned interesting news: Ekiah woke up from his coma.

For the sake of formality, a trial was held for Ekiah. Mata Nui was judge, the Turaga were jurors. The overconfident Ekiah didn't seem at all worried about his fate, and pleaded guilty for everything. Mata Nui was a pacifist by nature, so instead of the death penalty, he gave Ekiah 118 consecutive life sentences. Ekiah was certain he would escape eventually, despite the fact he was still missing some limbs.

After Ekiah was sent to his top-security jail cell, Misakra teleported there, still struggling to fight off the effects of the sleep spell. Ekiah knew he wanted to kill him permanently, but he wasn't scared. He figured Misakra was weakened too badly to harm him.

Misakra proved him wrong. Ekiah was killed instantly—not even a body was left behind. Afterward, Misakra quietly returned to Mangaia and fell asleep.

(_To be concluded…_)

* * *

Original characters so far:

Jaro:

A simple Matoran from Mara Utha. Misakra found him in Arc 6 and forced Jaro to obey him, in exchange for the teleporting power. A few centuries before then, Jaro was attacked by a wild Rahi, but he was saved by the (very old) Toa Mara, Raku and Upmizell (Cracu had died before then). The Rahi was defeated, but the artificial Toa died in the process. Knowing that they died to protect his life, Jaro vowed to make his life last as long as possible. This back story was mostly written to explain the ultimate fate of the Toa Mara. Jaro was inspired by Tsukasa, from ".hack/SIGN," especially the teleporting powers.

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter is really a kind of break from Arc 8. We all knew Makuta wouldn't stay quiet forever. Also, I'm sorry if that last bit with Ekiah seemed forced in, but that's the way my friend and I wrote it. For some reason, I really liked Ekiah as a villain, so I'm glad I gave him an official death scene (and who better to kill him than Misakra?).

OH! I almost forgot to write the most important author's note. I've posted a new story-!

"_Dual Identity_," it's in the Spider-man section of the Comics. That story has been in my head for YEARS (kind of like this one). I hate the first chapter, so I'm planning on re-writing it one day, but I'd rather get some other chapters up first. If you're a Spider-fan, feel free to check it out.


	13. Ten Slayers pt3

Updated: 6/6/08. Oh my God. I have no idea how I did it, but this chapter came out so easily I was able to update two days in a row. Why can't I update this fast all the time??

**Summary of Arc 8—Ten Slayers (part 3)**

After placing Misakra under the sleeping spell, Mata Nui understood that the Brotherhood could not be rehabilitated like he hoped. He decided to return to Mara Utha and place all of the remaining Brotherhood members under sleeping spells. A2 and E6 agreed to go with him and protect him. After Mata Nui left, more of the Slayers began to appear in Metru Nui.

The sixth Slayer was an insect-like person who tried to plant bombs all over the city. Hordika managed to disarm the bombs he planted, and Alakor defeated the Slayer by attacking him with his own bombs.

The seventh Slayer was a towering giant. Like the first three, he didn't speak and slowly ravaged the city. The group led him to a deserted part of Metru Nui and caused him to lose balance and fall over. Once on the ground, the Toa and Alakor combined their efforts and defeated him as well.

The eighth Slayer, surprisingly enough, wasn't violent at all. He was a red Toa-like warrior named Shin. It seemed like he already came from a fierce battle and simply came to this dimension to recuperate. Shin, being a Slayer, was technically a criminal but he wasn't really evil. He promised not to harm or inconvenience anyone, but he wouldn't explain anything about the other Slayers or their motives.

Mata Nui eventually returned to the city with A2 and E6. He had successfully put sleeping spells on all of the Brotherhood members, but he had used up all of his energy in doing so (it's very difficult for a Light-based being to use Shadow-based magic). It would take a long time for Mata to naturally regain his powers. Fortunately, with the Brotherhood out of the way (for the most part), it seemed that they only had the last two Slayers to deal with.

The ninth Slayer appeared in Metru Nui. To everyone's shock, he looked exactly like a gray-colored copy of Takanuva. He called himself Aukat. Unlike the first eight Slayers, who were immune to Light powers, Aukat was only affected by Light powers. Not wanting to waste time with "Takua the fake-Toa of Light," Aukat ran off.

The group went to Shin and demanded that he answer their questions. Shin complied. The Ten Slayers were part of a race of energy-beings called Rakloids. The Ten Slayers were powerful Rakloids who became infamous criminals. Most were destructive monsters, but Shin was merely a mercenary. Rakloids live in a dimension of energy, and they are created when an intense power is used or created in the Toa's dimension. For instance, Aukat was created when Takua became Takanuva.

The reason the previous Slayers took their crimes to this dimension was simply to get away from Slayer number ten: V. He was created when Takutanuva used the Perfect Twilight to resurrect Jaller, and he gained strength every time Takanuva or Misakra used Twilight to resurrect someone. He was more destructive and violent than any other Rakloid. V only had one power, the ability to resurrect himself every time he died, so he couldn't be defeated. And he could also resurrect himself anywhere, so cages were useless.

V had killed close friends of Shin, and Shin tried to get revenge, but lost. To save his own hide, Aukat agreed to work for V, and promised to get him a Matter-Conversion Engine. Shin speculated that Aukat betrayed V and stole the engine for himself at the last minute.

The Toa needed to stop Aukat before he started causing trouble, and since Mata Nui was out of energy, Takanuva was the only one who could fight his imposter. The two found and challenged each other to a duel. Aukat mused that the winner and loser would be Toa of Light and Toa of Shadow. It was a long battle, but Takanuva was victorious in the end. Aukat was weakened, but his engine was intact. Aukat begged Takanuva not to send him back to where V was waiting, and Takanuva agreed. Shin—however—had no mercy for someone who sold out to V. He attacked Aukat and sent him back to the Rakloid dimension.

It was implied V would destroy Aukat, who betrayed him, once V found him. Mata Nui was angry at what Shin did, and told him to leave the city. Shin calmly went to Mata Nui Island. While there, the Sentient Rahkshi found him and started a fight. Shin eventually won, and the Rahkshi fell back. Soon after that, V himself appeared in front of Shin. The Rahkshi watched as Shin attacked V, but V easily destroyed him. The Rahkshi decided to go elsewhere.

Hordika's Radar detected V's presence in Mata Nui Island, as well as Shin's death. The Toa, Lerahk, Hordika, and Alakor went to the island to confront V. Lerahk could heal the group and Alakor could heal himself, but they were all getting tired and whenever V was damaged he would just kill and resurrect himself good as new. That's when Hordika got an idea. Ekiah was obsessed with learning new ways to kill people, so maybe his abandoned hideout had something that could stop V's resurrections. Alakor stayed to stall V while the others went to Ekiah's old lab in Metru Nui.

Alakor's fight with V was so intense they blew a hole through the island and fell to Metru Nui. Alakor survived by using V as a cushion, but V simply revived again. Fortunately, the others found Ekiah's "energy-eating virus" and injected it into V. It worked; V began dissolving and seemingly lost the ability to fix himself. V ran away, and the Toa agreed there was no need to chase him.

In an empty part of the city, the dying V found a dark gray Toa. The strange Toa was upset that V attacked Mata Nui and the others, since that was "his job." With just a wave of his hand, the gray Toa made V cease to exist moments before he was about to die anyway.

* * *

Original characters so far:

The Sixth Slayer: Have you ever seen that old cartoon "The Tick"? The sixth Slayer is a replica of a villain from that show called The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight ("yeah baby!"). He was very funny.

The Seventh Slayer: He was inspired by a giant man named Fuji, a villain from the anime "Rurouni Kenshin." Fuji turned out to be an intelligent and good man, unlike the truly monstrous Slayer.

The Eighth Slayer, Shin: He was inspired by another "Rurouni Kenshin" villain, Aoshi Shinomori. V killed close friends of his (unseen characters equivalent to the Oniwabanshu). He is usually calm and stoic, except when he fights V. Shin's revenge-driven fight with V was inspired by Haseo's (of ".hack/G.U.") fight with Azure Kite, which is fitting since V himself is inspired by Azure Kite.

The Ninth Slayer, Aukat: He was inspired by a one-episode villain from "Speed Racer X." I don't remember his name, but his racecar had the same type of engine as the Mach 5, and he referred to the winner and the loser as "the light and the darkness." He's also kind of based on the evil Megaman from the "Megaman NT Warrior" manga. You might have noticed that "Aukat" is "Takua" spelled backwards.

The Tenth Slayer, V: V was inspired by a picture I saw of Azure Kite (also called Tri-Edge), the first villain in ".hack/G.U." I tried to make his figure look similar to Azure Kite. It wasn't intentional, but I later learned that Azure Kite could revive himself just like V, but the former didn't do it as much. V was created when _Takutanuva_ resurrected someone. So even though Takanuva's resurrections made V stronger, they won't make another V in the future.

The mysterious gray Toa: I'll talk about him next chapter.

* * *

Author's notes: This is the first time one of my arcs led directly into the next one like this. The next chapter will be the beginning of Arc 9. Wow, The Story's almost over! Arc 9 will be two or three chapters. Arc 10 will probably be one long chapter. After that will be the Mini Arc, the Extra Arc, and then the end! Of course, after "Light, Shadow, Twilight" is finished, I plan on writing a prologue story. And then I'll _finally_ start writing some new stuff, so The Story's not _really_ over. See you in Arc 9!


	14. Diov pt1

Updated: 7/12/08. Sorry for the late update. Most of my writing has been devoted to my other fanfic. So much for two days in a row… I'm going to work hard on this story in order to get the last chapter posted on the 27th. That's the anniversary of this story's premiere (I'm so exited!). Wish me luck.

**Summary of Arc 9—Diov (part 1)**

(_A mistake from Mata Nui's past appears, and indirectly reveals the most guarded secret in the world…_)

Matoran started going missing all over the city, but Mata Nui and Takanuva were the only ones who remembered that they existed. The other Toa believed him when Mata Nui said there were supposed to be more Matoran in Metru Nui, but they had no way of finding them. The reason Mata's memories were unaffected was because, even without his powers, Mata had a strong natural resistance against spells and powers. Takanuva remembered the Matoran because he shared a link with Mata Nui. Mata expected A2 and E6 to remember as well, but they were missing too.

After several days of helpless searching and more disappearances, Mata Nui was walking through the city when he met a black and gray Toa named Diov. Diov was the Toa of Nothingness, created by Mata Nui and the Brotherhood back when they were working together. Diov was just a body with memories, no soul. He went on a rampage shortly after being 'born' and the Brotherhood dismantled his body.

Mata knew Diov controlled a pocket dimension called "Nowhere" and the Mask of Amnesia, but he didn't suspect Diov before because he was supposed to be dead. Diov explained that back in the Mara Utha arc, Ekiah found Diov's remains and built a machine to reassemble him, but the machine worked slowly and didn't finish until just now. Diov confessed to the kidnappings and the memory erasing. He also kidnapped A2 and E6 because he didn't want them messing up his plan prematurely, but he didn't send them to "Nowhere" like the Matoran. Once Diov had all 1000 Matoran in "Nowhere" he'd experiment on them until he figured out how to get a soul of his own. After that, he'd get revenge on Mata and the Brotherhood.

Mata Nui went back to the Toa and explained what happened. Hordika began working on his Radar/Computer, trying to figure out a way to teleport to "Nowhere." Meanwhile, as part of his research, Diov was practicing Necromancy. He attached a dead soul to a robot body and sent it to attack the Toa Nuva. The Toa soon realized that the attached soul was Bandris (You remember, that death-obsessed guy way, _way_ back from Arc 2). Once Bandris became aware of the situation, he refused to be Diov's puppet and destroyed himself.

Diov retrieved the robot parts and then started a battle with the Toa Nuva himself. His own attacks were weak, but he avoided all of the Toa's counterattacks by teleporting to "Nowhere." Then Lewa realized he could predict where Diov would reappear next by sensing air displacement. Pohatu ran to the right spot and punched Diov when he showed up, and it surprisingly destroyed half of his body. Evidently, Diov's body wasn't rebuilt very well. He teleported back to "Nowhere" and stayed there.

Hordika invented a machine that successfully teleported the group to "Nowhere." "Nowhere" looked like a city at night with all the buildings made out of green wire-frame. The Toa's group found the Matoran and Hordika began teleporting them home. That's when Diov showed up with a fixed body. The Matoran were actually just bait to bring Mata Nui and the Toa to "Nowhere," where Diov's powers were strongest. Despite his increased strength, the Toa defended Mata Nui and escaped along with all the Matoran. Everyone remembered the Matoran again, but the Matoran themselves forgot getting kidnapped.

The group found and rescued A2 and E6 as well (Diov sent them to an underwater cave). And none of the Matoran went missing again. Everything seemed peaceful for the next few days, but then Diov appeared in front of Mata Nui in private. He threatened to kidnap the Matoran again and destroy them if Mata didn't come with him peacefully. Mata Nui felt forced to agree, and he was taken to "Nowhere."

Diov couldn't erase other people's memories of Mata Nui, so he found Krahka in the Archives and asked her to impersonate him. Diov said that he just wanted to get a soul, he couldn't care less what he did after that, so he offered to become Krahka's slave afterward. Krahka accepted. Her performance as Mata Nui was convincing (despite being humorously difficult for her), but Takanuva, Hordika and Lerahk were suspicious.

At this point, Misakra secretly woke up from the sleeping spell. He kidnapped Krahka and took her place as Mata Nui's imposter.

Meanwhile, when Takanuva dreamed, he received psychic calls for help from the real Mata Nui. During these dreams, Takanuva accidentally saw some of Mata Nui's memories. Specifically, memories about a group of criminals called the "SSS." Mata Nui was apparently terrified of the SSS, but Takanuva couldn't learn the details.

Takanuva explained his dreams to Hordika and Lerahk. They wondered why Mata was asking for help in Takanuva's dreams when he was seemingly fine. By some miracle, Lerahk was the one to figure out Mata Nui was an imposter. He confronted the fake Mata Nui alone and accused him of being Krahka. Misakra killed Lerahk. Hordika began looking for his best friend, but "Mata Nui" claimed he hadn't seen Lerahk.

Diov, believing that the fake Great Spirit was still Krahka, appeared in Mata's office. Misakra revealed himself and attacked Diov. Diov escaped, but Misakra managed to follow him inside "Nowhere."

Takanuva and Hordika found Lerahk's corpse and Takanuva resurrected him. Lerahk told them that Mata Nui was actually Misakra. Takanuva relayed the information to the other Toa and Alakor. The group couldn't find Mata or Misakra in the city, so they went back to "Nowhere" to search.

Diov used a new weapon to absorb all of Mata Nui's dormant powers. Armed with this weapon, Diov launched a full-scale assault on the Toa's group. Shockingly, Takanuva, Hordika, Lerahk, and Alakor weren't hurt at all. The group realized that people who died and were resurrected by Twilight apparently become immortal while inside "Nowhere." This allowed the four to stall Diov while the Toa Nuva looked for Mata Nui.

The Toa Nuva found Mata Nui's holding cell, but they weren't able to break in. Fortunately for them, Misakra showed up and easily destroyed the barriers. Diov was aware of everything that happens in "Nowhere," so he teleported away from his fight with the Toa. He went to the weakened Mata Nui and used his own power to kill him.

The Toa's group was devastated. Takanuva wasn't strong enough to resurrect Mata Nui. However, when Mata Nui died the rest of the Brotherhood felt his death and woke up. They broke into "Nowhere" and met up with Misakra. Despite being enemies, the Brotherhood wouldn't allow Mata Nui to die. They were brothers, after all. The Brotherhood channeled their energy into Misakra, and Misakra used his own Twilight to resurrect the Great Spirit. Mata Nui came back to life with all his powers.

The exhausted Brotherhood returned to their homes and fell back under the sleeping spell, Misakra included. However, right before Misakra lost consciousness he transferred his thoughts into a spare body. This allowed him to secretly stay active while his real body slept.

Back in "Nowhere," Diov was enraged that his revenge failed. He tried to use his own power to create a black hole, but the strain on his fragile body was so strong he ended up destroying himself. "Nowhere" faded away and the Toa's group was sent back to Metru Nui.

Takanuva told Mata Nui that he accidentally saw his memories and told the others about them, and Takanuva wanted to know more about the SSS. Mata Nui, unable to hide it, explained the details to the group. But he made the Toa, Hordika, Lerahk, Alakor, A2, and E6 swear never to tell anyone else about the SSS.

(_To be continued…_)

* * *

Original characters so far:

Diov:

A few things inspired the Toa of Nothingness. First, the missing people who _almost_ everyone forgot came directly from "Remember Me," an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I also based him on both Organization XIII of "Kingdom Hearts II" and Enishi of "Rurouni Kenshin." His name comes from 'void' spelled backwards. Physically, Diov is black and gray and wears a gray mask of shielding. He looks more like a machine than a regular Toa due to rebuilding his body.

The Great Mask of Amnesia lets him erase and restore the memories of others, as well as transfer his own memories. He controls a pocket dimension called "Nowhere," and he can teleport himself and others to and from it. He can create tiny black holes, but if he makes them too strong he'd shatter his own body. Diov's main goal was getting a soul without becoming a different person. To clarify, A2 and E6 were machines with artificial souls and Mata Nui turned them into real souls. He couldn't do that to Diov because he had no soul to begin with, artificial or not. Diov is merely a mechanical body with memories.

SSS:

A group of six evil beings. Their alternate name was the Triple-S. 4000 years ago, when the Brotherhood and Mata Nui were first getting started, SSS were killing people in secret and absorbing their life energy. The goal of the SSS was not only to live forever, but also to become totally un-killable. They were created by Mata Nui's best friend Keesu, who greatly regretted his mistake. Keesu was eventually killed because of SSS. SSS were also eventually killed, and the Brotherhood kept their existence a guarded secret in order to prevent any more from being created. Not even Ekiah knew about them (Misakra blocked those memories when he made Ekiah).

SSS fought mostly with conspiracy and psychological warfare. To this day, the Brotherhood and Mata Nui are still slightly traumatized by their memory. I intend to write a prologue story about Mata Nui and the Brotherhood's battle with them (I will write it, in time).

One more thing. Remember the "**them**" that Dyuma mentioned way back in Arc 6 Part 2? That was the SSS. The rest of the Brotherhood was pretty angry with Dyuma for even _hinting_ about them.

* * *

No author's notes. Imagine that!


	15. Diov pt2

Updated: 7/17/08 (Late night). Ten days until the anniversary. It's practically a countdown.

Author's notes: I didn't really proof-read this chapter (bad day). I _could_ have put it off until tomorrow, but for some reason I just wanted it up on the 10-day mark. If you notice any grammar mistakes or even just a plot hole, tell me and I'll fix it later.

**Summary of Arc 9—Diov (part 2)**

The Mask of Amnesia was the only thing left of Diov after his body was destroyed. As part of their community service, Hordika and Lerahk were supposed to bring the mask to the Archives. But Lerahk, the bad influence that he is, convinced Hordika to steal it instead.

A person calling himself Ovid went to Mata Nui Island and spoke with the Rahkshi. Ovid gave them powerful Kraatas, and promised them more Kraatas if they brought him the Mask of Amnesia. The Rahkshi went to Metru Nui and attacked the Archives, demanding that the Toa give them the mask. Mata Nui came and easily forced the Rahkshi away. But afterward, the Toa realized that the mask was gone, even though the Rahkshi never had a chance to steal it. The group began searching for the mask (Hordika and Lerahk denied knowing anything, of course).

Mata Nui remembered that the Rahkshi had new powers during the fight, which meant they must have gotten new Kraatas. Mata Nui suspected that they were pulling Kraatas out of Misakra's sleeping body. Mata Nui teleported to Mangaia and found Ovid there. Ovid explained that right before Diov died, he used the Mask of Amnesia to send his memories to a spare body he prepared beforehand. And since Diov was just a body with memories, and Ovid was a body with the same memories, that technically made them the same person. Ovid escaped with a teleport-Kraata, and Mata went back to the others and told them what happened.

Hordika and Lerahk decided to attack the Rahkshi instead of waiting for them. They went to Mata Nui Island and used the Mask of Amnesia to make the Rahkshi forget how to move. Then Ovid appeared and tried to take the mask. He revealed that his memories were inerasable, so Hordika and Lerahk were forced to run away.

Ovid went back to Mangaia and pulled an illusion-Kraata out of Misakra. He used this Kraata to create Legerdemains just like Cromilis used to make. He made a green Rahkshi (Lerahk-L), and copies of Ekiah, Dyuma, and Cromilis (Ekiah-L, Dyuma-L, and Cromilis-L).

Back in Metru Nui, Mata asked Hordika to use his Radar to try and find Ovid and/or the mask. Hordika was growing increasingly guilty about stealing and hiding the mask, but Lerahk made him keep his mouth shut. Suddenly, Hordika and Lerahk were attacked by Lerahk-L and Ekiah-L. The Legerdemains tried to destroy Hordika's Radar. Fortunately, Pohatu came and helped them fight off the Legerdemains.

Mata Nui figured they could find Ovid by finding the Legerdemains. So he lent Hordika a Noble Mask of Illusion, hoping it let his Radar locate the sentient illusions. Hordika was moved that the Great Spirit trusted him enough to lend him a Noble Mask. In guilt, he totally cracked and told Mata Nui everything about stealing the Mask of Amnesia. Mata Nui forgave them both, but gave them much more community service to do (especially Lerahk, since the theft was his idea).

Ovid sent Lerahk-L and Ekiah-L to cause a distraction while he got more Kraatas from Mangaia. In Metru Nui, Lerahk-L and Ekiah-L started a battle with the Toa's group. Lerahk-L was surprisingly strong, and somehow killed Alakor. Since Alakor was resurrected once before, Takanuva couldn't do it a second time. Alakor was dead permanently.

During the battle, Ekiah-L asked if he could join the Toa's team. He was more than willing to betray Ovid, on the condition that Mata use the Mask of Amnesia to erase Ekiah-L's memories of the real Ekiah. Lerahk-L tried to destroy the traitor, but the group worked together and destroyed Lerahk-L.

Afterward, Mata Nui used the mask as promised. Ekiah explained that his memories were actually Misakra's memories about Ekiah. Ovid could see Misakra's memories whenever he pulled Kraatas from him. Mata Nui teleported the sleeping Misakra to the Coliseum. Then he laid a trap in Mangaia. When Ovid arrived with Dyuma-L and Cromilis-L, the Toa group was waiting for them. Ovid escaped with his guards, but in his rush he left behind all the Kraatas he previously collected. Mata Nui destroyed the Kraatas.

Ekiah-L told the group that Ovid's base was underneath the Coliseum, in the same place Alakor made his hideout when he first appeared. Mata Nui knew that Ovid wouldn't run away if they brought the Mask of Amnesia with them. The team got the mask and infiltrated the base.

Ovid found them and destroyed Ekiah-L. Then he sent Dyuma-L and Cromilis-L to destroy the group and take the mask. Suddenly, Alakor appeared and defeated the Legerdemains. He explained that he only faked his death in order to find Ovid's base while undetected.

Ovid explained that when he saw Misakra's memories, he learned about the SSS. Ovid had been building a machine to try and resurrect the SSS, and he threatened to use it unless Mata Nui gave him the mask. Mata Nui surrendered. But at that moment, Misakra's spare body broke into Ovid's base and destroyed both the resurrection machine and the Mask of Amnesia. Ovid destroyed Misakra's spare body, which sent his thoughts back into his sleeping body.

An enraged Ovid attacked Mata Nui. The latter apologized for making Diov/Ovid incomplete, and destroyed him. Without the Mask of Amnesia, Diov couldn't send his memories into another body, and he was defeated for good. The Rahkshi remembered how to move, and Mata Nui returned Misakra's body to Mangaia. Everything seemed to return to normal.

* * *

Original characters so far:

Diov/Ovid: The only things that changed were his name and his appearance. His second body looks the same except instead of a mask, he wears a Kraata on his face. And his right arm was replaced with a much larger arm and claw, which used to be on the robot body Diov gave Bandris.

Lerahk-L: He's kind of based on Wrath, from the anime "Fullmetal Alchemist." He didn't have any memories of the real Lerahk's life. Ovid simply made him as a violent fighter.

Ekiah-L: His betrayal was based on Lust's betrayal near the end of the anime "Fullmetal Alchemist," so I guess that makes Ekiah-L based on Lust. When Ovid made him, his only memories were Misakra's memories about Ekiah. Despite his body, Ekiah-L didn't share Ekiah's personality, and he hated seeing such unpleasant memories.

Dyuma-L and Cromilis-L: They were merely Ovid's bodyguards, and didn't have much of a personality.

* * *

More author's notes: I was re-reading chapter 2 when I remembered how much Misakra hated Bandris for trying to get eternal life. The reason for that is because it reminded Misakra of the SSS. I intended to explain that once the SSS were revealed, but I forgot. I should read previous chapters more often.

In actuality, when I was making The Story with my friend, I didn't come up with the SSS until about arc 8. But when I started writing this fic, I changed a few things to make it seem like the Brotherhood remembered them all along (In the original version, Misakra wanted to destroy Bandris simply because the latter didn't like Misakra). To think, I was foreshadowing the SSS ever since arc 2. I _really_ should read previous chapters more often.


	16. Etis

Updated: 7/20/08.

Author's notes: Actually, this arc was never really planned. Back when I was doing these with my friend, I knew I would be moving away soon so I intended for arc 9 to be the last storyline. But we still had a few days to kill, so this popped up.

**Summary of Arc 10—Etis**

(_The end is near! History and destiny converge!_)

A creature named Zira traveled to Mangaia just in time to see Misakra awaken again. Zira briefly worked for Misakra centuries ago and wanted to work for him again. At first Misakra thought he was just a pest, but decided to keep him around for a while.

Several mechanical towers rose out of the ground across Metru Nui. The Toa and Mata Nui found someone who looked exactly like Ekiah working at one of the Towers. The look-alike said his name was Etis. He was a hologram created by the Towers, and the one who activated them just now. The Towers were monster-making computers created by the Brotherhood and hidden in Metru Nui. Shortly before he built EMBRACER, Ekiah made a copy of his thoughts and downloaded them into the Towers.

Misakra sensed that the Towers had been activated. He and Zira went to Metru Nui and met up with the Toa and Etis. Etis continued to explain his plan. His ability to see the past allowed him to see Diov/Ovid talk about the SSS, and now Etis was going to use the Towers to recreate the SSS. Etis bragged that he couldn't be stopped because his holographic body couldn't be hurt. The only way to destroy him was to destroy a Tower, but that would trigger a self-destruct in all the Towers and kill whoever stopped him.

Zira didn't know who the SSS were, but he could tell his master hated them, and he threatened to destroy the Towers himself if Etis didn't back off. Etis thought he was just bluffing, but Zira stressed that he didn't care. He would literally die for his master, if needed. Misakra began to realize just how useful Zira's loyalty was. After some hesitation, Etis surrendered. He deactivated the Towers and went into hiding.

However, Etis refused to give up that easily. He went to the Archives and took over Krahka's body, forcing Krahka's soul out. Using Krahka's shapeshifting power, along with the knowledge of every warrior in the past, Etis gained the powers of all the fighters in history. Etis declared himself the new Toa of Everything. Krahka's soul eventually entered Zira's body and took over it. Krahka, in Zira's body, went to the Toa and told them what Etis did.

The Toa's group couldn't make a plan, because Etis would learn about it instantly. Then Mata Nui and Misakra got an idea. They combined their energy and called Kalishakti, the Toa of Time. She gave the group the temporary ability to teleport to a special room outside of the time stream. Etis couldn't spy on them here. Mata and Misakra would have to pay Kalishakti for borrowing her home, but that could wait until later.

Etis began attacking Matoran in an attempt to draw the others out. Mata Nui couldn't wait for a plan, so he returned to normal time and went to Etis. Mata Nui was about to fight him, when Etis transformed into a copy of Keesu, Mata's best friend and creator of the SSS. Even though he knew it was a fake, Mata Nui couldn't force his body to attack the face of his late friend. This gave Etis enough time to open a portal to the afterlife and sent Mata directly through.

The group thought faster. Excluding Krahka's body, Etis was nothing more than a collection of memories, so the Mask of Amnesia would have been the ideal weapon if it weren't destroyed. Misakra increased his tab, and Kalishakti went back in time to a point before the mask was destroyed and retrieved it. However, the mask wouldn't erase Etis unless they got him to wear it.

The group found Etis and they returned to normal time. They tried to get the mask on Etis, but he easily defeated Misakra, the Toa, Alakor, and the rest. While the group was exhausted, Etis opened another portal to the afterlife. But before he could send someone in, Mata Nui was able to break out. Mata Nui healed the group and the fight continued.

However, Etis still had the upper hand and he could heal himself whenever he wanted. But suddenly, Etis stopped moving. Using all that power had put too much strain on Krahka's body, and it had to recover. The paralysis only lasted a few seconds, but that was all the time Mata Nui needed. He forced the Mask of Amnesia on Etis and erased his mind. Etis was destroyed.

Krahka released Zira and returned to her own, exhausted body. She thanked the group and quietly returned to the Archives. Mata Nui and Misakra returned the Mask of Amnesia to Kalishakti, and they paid her. Payment included the ashes of Keesu's body, and all the Towers.

Hordika and Lerahk thought teleporting to the outside-time room was so cool, and they begged Mata Nui to let them keep going. Mata gave the Toa of Time more payments (rare treasures from his fortress hidden in Mata Utha) and the room stayed open for Hordika and Lerahk. However, the duo had to do even _more_ community service to pay Mata Nui back.

Misakra went back to sleep in Mangaia, and Zira happily took up his new post guarding him.

* * *

Original characters so far:

Zira:

He was inspired by both Rem and Misa, from the manga "Death Note." However, I must stress that Zira's feelings for his master are NOT romantic. He's a fanboy at best. Once again, I simply used a pre-existing figure instead of building a new one. In this case, I used Zaktan. I guess that makes Zira the same species as the Piraka. He has no real powers, but is an expert at making traps. He has filled Mangaia with all sorts of traps and security measures.

A few centuries ago, Zira was a drifting loner. He was almost killed in an accident but Misakra, on a whim, decided to save him and hired him for a few odd jobs. Misakra quickly became busy in Mata Nui Island, but Zira was eager to help the master who not only saved his life, but also gave him a purpose. He stayed in Mara Utha and worked with other Brotherhood servants until he heard a rumor that Misakra fell under the sleeping spell. Zira can be very serious when he needs to be, but he's usually cheerful and excitable.

I wanted to do something new with Zira. All of the Brotherhood's servants are either forced to work for them, or they get something out of it. Zira is probably the first volunteer servant to a Brotherhood member. Before he met Misakra, Zira had nothing to do with his life. Now he does have something to do, and that makes him happy. Misakra doesn't really like Zira as a person, but he does value him as a worker, so he treats him fairly well. Zira knows all that, and it's all he asks for.

Etis, Toa of Everything:

He was originally going to be Ekiah's ghost, but I didn't like that idea so I changed his name and made him a copy of Ekiah's mind instead. Etis' body was merely a hologram (unlike the flesh and blood monsters usually made by the Towers). He kept his past-reading power, but he couldn't touch anything so the Towers were his only means of attack. Before he stole Krahka's body, that is.

Etis is one of my 'special' Toa. First I had a Toa with no element, now I have one with every element. He had knowledge of every power in existence, but he could only use them as far as Krahka's body could handle it. His only other weakness was it took time to decide which power to use. For his hologram body, I used Ekiah's figure. After he possessed Krahka, I used a modified version of Toa Lhikan.

Kalishakti, Toa of Time:

For her figure, I used Toa Hagah Iruini. She is an immortal Toa who exists outside of time, and she wears a Gold Mask of Time. She worked once with Mata Nui and the Brotherhood, before they broke up but after the SSS died. She was Cromilis' inspiration for Vahinohagah, and Makuta's inspiration for making Vakama make the Mask of Time.

She can only be summoned by a great power, like Mata Nui and Misakra's pooled energy. She'll never do anything evil, but she can't do anything good either unless she receives payment. Payments have to be either important to the patron, or just unique. I wonder what she does with all the unusual payments she's received?

As a running gag, she won't allow anyone to see her teleport. Her catchphrase is, "Hey, what's that over _there?"_

* * *

More author's notes: Sorry for bringing Ekiah back _again_. You must be sick of him by now. First Ekiah's trial, then Ekiah-L, now Etis. You'd think I liked that villain or something. : )

Also, when Hordika and Lerahk exit the outside-time room, they always return to the present. So they can't do anything dangerous like change history. According to Kalishakti, that would require a perception of time above that of ordinary mortals.


	17. FINAL CHAPTER

Updated: 7/27/08.

I feel awful. I totally slacked off since my previous update. Truth be told, most of this chapter was written today. But I did write everything I needed to (probably). Still, I was hoping I'd make the final chapter/anniversary of my first fanfiction a bit more "special." But there's no sense in complaining now. It's still nice that I'm completing this story.

On a positive note, "Light Shadow Twilight" has over 1000 hits! YAHAY! Just in time, too.

I want to thank Chaora 01 for reviewing every time I updated. I also want to thank all the anonymous readers who contributed to my 1000 hits.

Well, here we go…

**Summary of the Extra Arc—Dixtil**

(_It's 'extra' because it was made after I posted The Story online, during one of my occasional visits with my friend._)

Mata Nui heard a rumor that someone in Mara Utha had taken the Brotherhood's place. He took the Toa with him and went to investigate. Unbeknownst to them, the Rahkshi were spying on them and decided to secretly follow the group. Once in Mara Utha, they learned that a person named Dixtil had usurped the Brotherhood's empire after Mata Nui put them under the sleeping spell.

Dixtil was working with a Matoran scientist trying to create a 'cure for death.' The idea was to make a copy of everybody's mind and store it in a special computer (owned by Dixtil), where it could be put into a new body if the original was ever killed. Dixtil would use this cure to gain the favor of the people, even those against the Brotherhood. Once he had enough allies, he would try to take over the world.

Dixtil found out that Mata Nui had arrived in his part of the continent. The cure for death wasn't finished yet, so Dixtil sent a monster to stall Mata and the Toa. This monster was a very rare breed of creature immune to light power, so Mata Nui couldn't help the Toa fight it.

However, the Rahkshi suddenly showed up and offered to keep the monster busy while the Toa looked for Dixtil. Mata and the Toa weren't sure why the Rahkshi were helping them, but they took advantage of it and went ahead. The Rahkshi worked together and soon killed the monster.

Mata Nui and the Toa entered Dixtil's base and tried to destroy his computer. The Matoran scientist (I don't think I ever named him) tried to talk them out of it. Even if the cure for death was in the hands of Dixtil, he felt it could still be used for some good. Mata Nui had nothing against those who wanted to live longer, but SSS made him believe that if life lasted forever, it might lose it's value. Besides, Dixtil would only use this machine on people _he_ wanted to live.

The computer was destroyed. Then Dixtil himself showed up and tried to get revenge. He launched a missile towards Metru Nui. Mata Nui and the others got inside the missile right before it launched, and eventually managed to disarm it. The missile harmlessly landed in the ocean next to Mata Nui Island.

Back in Mara Utha, the Rahkshi found Dixtil and killed him. Then they took over his position as the controllers of the Brotherhood's empire. The Rahkshi didn't feel like doing anything with the empire at the moment, instead they relaxed and calmly enjoyed their victory.

* * *

Original characters:

Dixtil: His figure was Vezon's figure, and the light-immune monster's figure was Fenrakk's figure. He wasn't very powerful, he was just an opportunist who snatched control of the Brotherhood's empire.

One more thing: The 'cure for death' was taken from a novel I read, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" (by Cory Doctorow). If you're interested in reading it, I should warn against letting the title fool you; it's not a kiddy book (bad language, etc).

* * *

**Summary of the Mini Arc—The Random Exploits of Hordika, Lerahk, and Alakor**

(_This isn't really an arc. It's a collection of short stories done on instant messenger, very few of which should be taken seriously. They take place before and after the Extra Arc._)

In one adventure, Alakor found two small turtles and adopted them as pets. These turtles are powerless, but basically become his sidekicks. They are the only creatures Alakor seems to honestly like. (The turtles are built by attaching some extra pieces to green Rahkshi feet.)

In another adventure, a Matoran named Sinnamus came and challenged Alakor, Mata Nui, and even the Rahkshi to duels. But none of them wanted to bother fighting Sinnamus, so he claimed victory by default. Sinnamus rode a cowardly Vahki named Ambrosious. Sinnamus claimed to be the greatest fighter of all time, and he had no idea how pathetically weak he really was. He's based heavily on Sir Didymus, from the movie "Labyrinth" (I love that movie).

In yet another adventure, Hordika, Lerahk, Alakor, and his pet turtles went on a comical mission to see Kalishakti teleport. The Toa of Time easily escaped them many times, but ultimately became so annoyed she gave in and let the trio see her teleport. But she made them swear never to tell anyone what her teleportation sequence looks like.

In yet another adventure, a distant Turaga friend of Mata Nui asked him to guard a magical artifact. Alakor tried to steal this artifact so he could use it to learn how to teleport, but Mata Nui easily stopped him and kept the artifact safe for his friend.

In yet another adventure, it's revealed that Alakor used to work for a small-time villainess called The Nameless Witch before he met the Toa. The Nameless Witch wants to rule the world, but she doesn't really stand a chance of doing it. Alakor quit her gang because he couldn't stand her, and The Nameless Witch came to Metru Nui to try and force Alakor to rejoin. Eventually, The Nameless Witch hired Sinnamus in Alakor's place. The Nameless Witch is an old lady who looks like a Turaga. She's based on Rita Repulsa from "Power Rangers." She has two minions who are based on Rita's minions Squatt and Baboo.

In yet another adventure, an energy-eating Rakloid (the same species as the 10 Slayers) was causing trouble in the Rakloid dimension, and it was trying to enter the Toa's dimension. The Toa were able to defeat it with Mata Nui's friend Gala. Gala was a Turaga from Mara Utha. She was also an Exister, someone who could exist in multiple dimensions at once. Existers can create Crossed Space, which allows people from two different dimensions interact with each other.

In yet another adventure, Zira used a special Zamor Sphere to bring a stature of a monster to life (this monster was a Barraki Pridak figure). Zira wanted the Statue to become a new servant for Misakra, but the Statue wanted to destroy Misakra instead. The Statue (somehow) survived all of Zira's traps, but he couldn't break into Misakra's password-protected sleeping chamber. So he went to Metru Nui, and Zira followed him. There was a lottery going on at the time, and to Zira's shock, the winning lottery number just happened to be exactly the same as the password. The Statue ran back to Mangaia and entered the password. But at that moment, Misakra woke up and soundly pulverized the Statue.

In yet another adventure, Hordika and Lerahk realized that Kopaka never really got revenge on them for blackmailing him. Kopaka overheard their conversation, and he told them that two months ago, Mata Nui realized that the duo finally finished all of their community service, and they didn't need to work anymore. Kopaka volunteered to tell them two months ago, but it seems he "accidentally" forgot.

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Disclaimer: I—and my friend—do not own Bionicle. We also do not own any of the many anime, manga, TV shows, books, or games that helped inspire the characters and events in The Story. Please do not sue me or my friend.

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Coming soon (or later):

"**Sadness Surrounds Sin**": The prequel to "Light Shadow Twilight." It recounts the time Mata Nui and the Brotherhood of Makuta fought against the SSS. Very dark story. I'm planning for this to be _mostly_ summary format, with the important parts written out in full.

"**Bury the Past**": The sequel to "Light Shadow Twilight." After I finish "Sadness Surrounds Sin," I'm planning on writing a new adventure in full story format.

These stories probably won't be out for a while. I think I'm going to take an intentional break from Bionicle and focus on my other story, "Dual Identity." But I will write them, however long it takes. I hope you look forward to them.

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End of Arc 0—Prologue.

Thank you for reading.


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